A Sage Among Monsters
by Deepsmoop
Summary: After giving his power to an unconscious Naruto. The blond shinobi disappears from the face of the Elemental Nations. After being saved by ghouls who have lost almost everything. He is employed in their coffee shop re: Watch as Naruto opens his mind to the terrors of this new word, and as he strides to achieve his Sensie's dream once more.
1. A New World

It was night. The shining moon that was once red the previous night was now it's original grey color. It gave Naruto the time to think. Think over the war, to think over Sasuke, and to think over his ideals. He knew the war would leave scars. It would change him, and without him knowing it this was one of its effects. He no longer had the same very high optimistic view. He was still an optimist, but after battling Sasuke it was wavering slightly. He felt as if Sasuke wasn't going to help him release the **Infinite Tsukuyomi** than he would be forced to take matters into his own hands. He never enjoyed bringing pain to people, but as a descendent of the Rikudō Sennin it was his job, no. His destiny to bring peace to the **Elemental Nations**. Even if it meant taking the eye of his all but brother in blood. A constant sound of a drop of water could be heard. It was if someone forgot to close the faucet of the sink all the way.

Sasuke opened his eyes.

"You've finally come to, eh?" Naruto spoke with a raspy voice. The stress of using his vocal cords causing blood to trickle down his mouth, but he had to show his best friend the light.

Sasuke hearing Naruto's voice quickly turned to him, but instantly flinched in pain as he moved. Looking down in between the space of the two Sasuke noticed two things. The source of his pain, and the blood that was connected towards him and Naruto in a 'v' fashion. They had both lost their arms when they clashed with their finale jutsu's.

"As you can see" Naruto started, "if either of us moves too much, we'll bleed out and die." His voice holding no emotion.

"Why would you go that far?" Sasuke asked. Ignoring Naruto's previous statement, so he could get his questions answered. "Why do all that….just to get in my way?" Naruto however kept looking at the moon in silence. "I gained the power to enter the darkness, and sever all bonds. And naturally, everyone's tried to cut their ties to me as well, at some point" he turned his head to Naruto, "But you...You've never attempted to cut me off."

A flashback of Naruto yelling at him went through his head, " _The only one who can handle all that hatred is me!"_

"Why do you keep involving yourself with me?"

Naruto closed his eyes and smiled before lightly lifting his head from the stone, " You already know, don't you? Now that your body can't move, your mouth sure is talking a lot."

"Just answer me!" Sasuke yelled out of frustration .

However Naruto's smile faded as he opened his eyes and turned to Sasuke. Cerulean blue meeting onyx. What he said next caused Sasuke's eyes to widen.

"Cuz you're my friend."

Another flashback went through Sasuke's head. Their first battle at the **Valley of the End**. _He was standing on a log with his sharingan blazing. "What is with you anyway?" Sasuke yelled. "I'm your friend!" Naruto yelled as more and more power kept coming out of him. His eyes slit red due to the Kyuubi's influence._

Another flashback. _Sasuke this time was standing next to Tobi. In a rage due to Naruto interfering with his plans again, "Just what the hell do you want? Why are you so fixated on me?" Sasuke yelled. Naruto smiled at his words before once again speaking, "It's because i'm your friend!" he spoke in a happy tone._

They laid there after the flashback. Where there was a silence between the two. Sasuke was processing what Naruto had told him throughout the years.

"I've heard that before. But what exactly does that mean? To you anyway?" Sasuke asked in a curious tone.

Naruto closed his eyes before turning his head to the sky.

"You ask me to explain it, but I really can't put it into words. It's just that..when I see you take on stuff..and get all messed up...It kinda...hurts me." Naruto spoke in a sad tone. Sasuke's eyes widened at that before Naruto continued, "It hurts so much inside, that I can't just leave it alone, dattebayo" he turned his head towards Sasuke's with a small smile, "Though right now, i'm in a lot of pain all over, and I can't do anything about it." he said jokingly. Sasuke just looked at Naruto with warmth in his eyes. He forgot how it felt like to be loved by someone. A brotherly love he lost after Itachi murdered his clan. Did Naruto really see him like that? ' _Naruto...I knew you were always alone back than. The village shunned you, just like they did with me… the lone Uchiha survivor. You intentionally did stupid things to get scolded, most likely to get people's attention. In the beginning, I thought you we're a good for nothing. A weakling who just wanted to constantly goof around. But the more I watched you being idiotic and getting scolded over and over… For some reason it started weighing on my mind. I thought back than, that your weakness was gradually rubbing off on me. Then, every time i'd see you, i'd think about you more and more. Seeing you desperately trying to bond with others… made me remember my own family. And I don't know why, but I felt relief. But at the same time, I considered it a weakness. I trained hard as if to escape that weakness. In order to get revenge on my older brother. To become stronger than him. And yet… I ended up on the same team as you. I began thinking about my family again. I went on missions with you, as you jabbered on and on about becoming Hokage… I saw how both of us were getting stronger… And one day, I started feel the desire to fight you too. And I began to see a shadow of my own family in Team 7… That's why every time I saw you suffering… That's right… I felt it… I felt pain too. When I understood your pain, I finally saw you as a comrade. But on the other hand… I couldn't leave you alone. You were getting stronger and stronger. Watching you steadily grow stronger… I… '_

It was if Naruto could hear Sasuke's thoughts. When Sasuke finished, Naruto took over, ' _I knew that you were always alone. I wanted to walk over and start talking. I'd get sorta giddy. But I stopped myself. I was jealous because you were good at everything So I made you my rival. You've been… my goal. I had nothing, and I found a bond. I wanted to be strong and cool like you. That's why I kept chasing after you.' Naruto spoke with happiness._

' _It was the opposite' Sasuke's voice started, 'In reality, I was the one who was jealous of you. Because you had strength that I didn't. You were always walking in front of me. Just like my late big brother. And… even today… '_

 _A flashback of Itachi speaking to Naruto, "I'll let you deal with Sasuke."_

" _That was my plan from the start!" Naruto shouted causing Itachi's reincarnated body to smile._

 _Itachi's voice could be heard by Sasuke as he looked at the scene, "Entrusting it to you was the right thing to do, after all."_

 _Sasuke's eyes widened at Itachi's words, 'These are-! Naruto's memories.' Sasuke witnessed Naruto's memories. From fighting Mizuki to Team 7's time together. The Wave Mission. The Chunin Exams. Fighting Gaara. Training with Jiraiya. Bringing back Tsunade. Learning the_ _ **Rasengan**_ _. Leaving the village, and coming back, Saving Gaara. Fighting Pain and meeting his father. Fighting Obito and Madara. Befriending the Kyuubi. Their first time seeing each other after almost three years. The fun moments. The sad moments. The powerful moments. Even the desperate moments. It all made Sasuke see who Naruto truly was. It made him see Naruto's will of fire._

' _Naruto… How far… have you-?' Was Sasuke's though until he heard Itachi's voice where he immediately turned around._

' _No matter how powerful you become, don't try to shoulder everything alone. You share your father's dream, don't you? Then don't ever forget… Becoming Hokage doesn't mean people will acknowledge you. But when people acknowledge you, you can become the Hokage. Never forget your friends!' Itachi told Naruto. Sasuke stood next to the memory of Naruto as they both listened to his words._

' _Nii-san' Sasuke thought. An image of Itachi appeared in front of him. Then it changed to Itachi in an Akatsuki cloak. He still had a small faint smile that was directed to him. It than changed to Naruto. More and more people started to appear on Naruto's side… where he was left all alone in the darkness. Than he saw himself on that side. Standing next to Naruto proudly with a smile. It made his eyes widen and mouth open, before he looked down in shame._

" _I see" sasuke spoke as he lifted his head slowly to look at Naruto's side, "Then.. let me redeem myself. Brother."_

They woke up to the same drop that continuously hit the ground. It was morning when they awoke from their memory trips.

"Where are we?" Naruto asked, "Don't tell me this is really Heaven this time?" Naruto spoked in a panic tone.

"Looks like we fell asleep and slept until morning. We've failed to die again." Sasuke spoke with a tone of happiness and finished with a smile.

Naruto struggled to move after hearing Sasuke, "Damn it! I still can't move! I was hoping to punch you hard and make you finally open your eyes!"

Sasuke let out a chuckle.

"Eh?"

However Sasuke just kept laughing. This caused Naruto to turn to him.

"W-what is it?" Naruto asked confused.

Sasuke kept his smile and glanced at Naruto, "We're messed up like this, and you still wanna fight?"

Naruto gained blank white eyes before yelling, "Damn right! No matter how many times it takes-" However he was cut of by Sasuke's calm voice.

"I'll admit it."

"Eh?"

"I've… lost" he finished with a shine in his normal emotionless eyes.

There was a small silence between the two. Naruto was looking at his friend, while Sasuke was looking at the rising sun.

"You baka!" he started, "This fight isn't about winning or losing! It's about punching a sulking friend, to make him snap out of it! That's what it's about! The real match I want, comes after that!"

"Hey, Naruto... " Sasuke started peacefully.

"EH!" He yelled in the same expression.

"I just acknowledged you. If I die here, the long cycle of destiny the Rikudō Sennin mentioned will probably end as well. This is… a kind of revolution too. You can release the **Infinite Tsukuyomi** after i'm dead, by transplanting my left eye into yourself. I'll put an end to myself." Sasuke spoke solemnly.

"By dying? Don't think dying will settle this! If you're willing to die, than live and help me instead. What I want to do is make all Shinobi cooperate with each other. And that definitely includes you!" He spoke with fire in his eyes. His head facing Sasuke's.

Sasuke turned his head towards Naruto, "Just because you want that doesn't mean other will agree to it."

"Damn it! If you keep whining and sulking, i'll slug you again!"

"There's no guarantee I won't stand against you again… "

"Than i'll stop you again! Besides, I know you're not gonna do that kinda thing anymore." He finished as he turned his head towards the sky.

"How can you be so sure?"

Hearing this Naruto turned once again towards Sasuke, "Don't make me repeat myself!" as he said this Sasuke let out a lone tear from his one open eye, "Haven't you figured it out yet?!" Naruto said as he once again turned his head towards the sky before gaining a smile, "Now that I think about it… You were always pretty stupid too… " he opened his eyes to glance at Sasuke after the tease. However his eyes widened when he realized Sasuke was crying. He came to a decision. Not wanting to show Naruto his tears he turned his head the opposite way.

There was a silence between the two. Where the only thing that could be heard was the continuous drops of their blood streaming off the destroyed statue .

It was mid day now and Naruto could see Sakura and Kakashi on top of the valley. Both of them had a worried look on their face as they saw both of them were bleeding profoundly. Sakura quickly made her way towards the two, and started closing their wounds.

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto wheezed the barley formed sentence out with a smile.

"Sakura… " Sasuke started, "Never mind me... "

"Stay quiet now. I need to concentrate." She spoke with a disappointed tone.

Sasuke's eyes slightly closed, "I'm sorry…. "

"Sorry? For what?" The same disappointed emotionless tone evident in her voice.

Sasuke looked at her in the eyes before speaking, "For everything… "

"You should be" she spoke as she shook. Trying to keep up the emotionless facade with tears threatening to fall out, "Really… you… " the wall burst. Tears started pouring out of Sakura's eyes as she tried to form words, "Damn… idiot!"

Kakashi looked at the scene before him. Flashbacks of Team 7's memories going through his head. He looked back down and both Naruto and Sasuke had smiles on their faces as they comforted Sakura before Naruto started laughing. The other two smiling at what he said.

"He's finally back." Kakashi spoke as he saw the smiles on the team's faces. He quickly made his way down into the valley and took out a camera. He made a single **shadow clone** before giving it the camera.

"Well I believe this deserves a picture" Kakashi spoke getting a round of nods from the team. The positioning was sorta similar to when they took the original Team 7 photo. Kakashi was in the middle of Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto was to his left with Sasuke to his right. He had the same eye smile as before, and this time instead of glaring at each other, Naruto and Sasuke had a peaceful smile on their faces staring at the camera. Sakura was in front with a very happy smile on her face. The clone took the picture and four photos came out of the camera. Kakashi put three of them into his pouch, and put one into a scroll. A scroll which he sneaked into Naruto's pouch.

While Naruto was telling Sakura what happened Sasuke glanced at him, ' _Naruto… I've been thinking about what you once said to me. When we were together, you wondered if it was how having a brother would feel… Now, finally… I think I know what you meant.'_ He had a smile on his face the whole time. Seeing his blonde friend like this. He couldn't take the chance of betraying him, so there was only one thing they could do. Naruto had to have his **rinnegan**. It was the only way he would feel safe. With that thought in mind he hit the back of Naruto's neck causing him to pass out.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled out.

"Sakura... " he gave her a pleading look. A look that begged let me explain, " I want you to give Naruto my **rinnegan**. It's the only way I won't be a threat to anyone. Please… please do it for me, and afterwards i'll come back to Konoha." There was a look in his eye that Sakura had never seen before. A look of warmth, conviction, and a look that begged her to do it.

She hesitantly nodded her head. It gave her flashbacks to when Obito begged her to stab him in the eye to destroy the **rinnegan**. She couldn't do it back then, but after everything they went through… she would do it. With a newfound determination she carefully opened Naruto's left eye and stopped. There was a brief moment where all she could do was look at that cerulean eye, where if the user was awake would shine brighter than the sun itself. With a small 'sorry' Sakura took Naruto's eye out, and proceed to give it to Kakashi-sensei. She looked at Sasuke again before he gave her a nod. This time however she didn't hesitate. Sakura took out the **rinnegan** that was in his left eye, and transplanted it into Naruto's empty eye socket.

What happened once she put the purple rippled eye in shocked Team 7. A blinding bright light surrounded Naruto's form, and only grew bigger and bigger. When it surround Naruto's form it burst, leaving millions of light particles behind. However it hadn't left our blond hero behind. They didn't know what happened. They didn't care what happened. All they cared about was getting Naruto. It wasn't fair! They finally all came back together and something like this happens. Why!

'Naruto you better be ok!' Was the thought of Team 7.

Kakashi's eyes widened. They hadn't released the **Infinite Tsukuyomi**.

 **With Naruto**

The feeling of wind rushing against his face was what Naruto awoke to. Opening his eyes he was blinded by a bright light.

' _What!? Where the hell am I?! Damn it Sasuke! I swear if you did this i'm going to-'_

He wasn't able to finish his thought from the force of his body meeting the ground. Skidding to a stop Naruto groggily stood up. His left hand trying to comfort his head after the very _painful_ landing. Seriously he hadn't even fully recovered from his fight with Sasuke, and already something like this was happening. ' _Only I can do something like this. Seriously I was only talking to Sakura-chan, and next thing I know i'm coming down like one of Madara's meteor. Sheesh that was scary_.' he thought as he shuttered just thinking about the ancient Uchiha's technique.

"Now to find out where the hell everyone went."

Taking a single step Naruto immediately fell down face first into the cold hard ground. His body shut down from all of the exhaustion it had suffered over the past few days.

A pair of brown eyes could be seen watching Naruto. As soon as she saw the fiery object heading towards the ground it interested her. She couldn't describe it, but she felt as if she needed to see what it was. When she first saw what she assumed was a shooting star she had wished for her older brother to come back. However as the star got closer and closer to the world she immediately left her room to see what it was. Of course she had to sneak out due to her older sisters worrying about her.

She made her way towards the smoking crater, and what she found honestly surprised her. There on the floor was what appeared to be a person in their mid-teens. The person had blonde hair that seemed as if it was kissed by the sun itself, clothing that no sane person would wear in public. A shirt which reminded her of a fishnet, and a long bright orange jumpsuit pants. Both of them were severely damaged. Deciding that she would go and tell her Onee-chan she ran back to where she resided.

"Onee-chan!Onee-chan! Come quick!" The little girl yelled as she entered her home.

"Ah! Hanami what is it?" a voice could be heard.

"Just hurry Onee-chan!" the little brown haired girl yelled desperately.

Hearing a sigh, and than footsteps following them, she was met face to face with her Older sister. She grabbed her sisters hand and quickly ran out the door.

"Hinami! Where are we going!" The taller one yelled in surprised.

"Just trust me Onee-chan!" The little girl yelled back enthusiastically.

They ran to the forest where Hinami previously was. The whole time the older one apologizing to passerby's due to Hinami's recklessness. ' _Honestly this girl._ ' Looking at Hinami she couldn't help but notice she seemed excited, but a look of worry was evident on her face. ' _This better be something important or she'll never hear the end of it.'_

They arrived to what appeared to be a smoking crater. The older of the two seemed slightly confused at what she was seeing.

"Over here Onee-chan." Hinami said as she poked her sister. What the older one saw surprised her even more. Unlike Hinami the older one realized that the teen was in what looked to be critical condition. First of all the man had cuts and bruises all over his body, he was laying head first into the ground, so she couldn't get that good of a look at him. What caused her to get out of her shock, was the fact that he was missing his right arm.

"Hinami! Get back to the house, tell Nishiki and Yomo to set up a bed and bandages ready! Go! Now!" The older one yelled at Hinami. Hinami gave her a nod and quickly ran back to inform the others of the situation at hand.

Picking him up, she didn't have time to check him for anymore injuries. Due to carry what appeared to be a dead body she stuck to the alleys and rooftops. Before she knew it she was kicking the door down and rushing up stairs. They already had all the necessary medical equipment incase one of them got severely injured. Afterall they couldn't go to a hospital due to them being ghouls. Throwing the blonde on the bed, causing him to let out a small grunt, she started looking for anymore serious injuries.

"What's with all the ruckus?" Nishiki questioned as he entered the room. Hinami had told him to come upstairs, and when he asked 'why?' she told him it was an emergency. Instead of an answer he looked at the bed, where a blond haired teen was in,before looking back at Touka. She gave him a stern look, and he got straight to work. Out of all them he was the most experienced in situations like these. Looking over the blond he realized three things. One, he had gashes, cuts, and bruises all over his body. Two, he was missing half of his right arm. Three, the injuries on the blond were slowly healing themselves. 'A ghoul?' was Nishiki's first thought at the inspection. However, he was confused when he took the blondes shirt off, and found many scars all over. The most notable one being the one where his right lung was supposed to be. It seemed as if a fist went through it. His arm wasn't healing either, which confused him even more. If the blond was a ghoul the RC cells would be prioritizing on the missing limb first, instead of the other injuries on him. Not only that but, a Ghoul could regenerate any part of their limbs, but his was already closed off. Deciding to put his questions off for later, he cleaned the blond's wounds and bandage him up incase he was wrong. Giving the blond one last look he made his way downstairs.

"So" he started, "who's the blonde?" he asked looking at Touka.

Touka looked at Hinami before looking at Nishiki, "I honestly have no clue. Hinami's the one who originally found him. "

At that all eyes were on Hinami. The same question clearly being directed at her.

"I-I found him when I saw a bright light come down. I don't know who he is though" she spoke nervously. A stutter evident at the start.

"Aw does my little Hinami have a lil crush~" Nishiki teased.

It caused Hinami's face to turn a dust pink before she buried her face in her scarf. Getting a look from Touka Nishiki stopped.

"He might have been collateral damage." Yomo spoke.

"Well once he's up, he's not our problem. But he has a very weird scent on him don't you think?" Touka spoke calmly.

"We should eat him" Nishiki spoke blankly.

"N-No!" Hinami yelled as she waved her arms around frantically.

"Ah so our lil Hinami does have a crush~" Nishiki teased once again.

"W-What! I-I tho-thought we got past this Nishiki-san" She spoke once again embarrassed.

"I'm just teasing Hinami" he spoke with a smile.

There was a small silence between them.

"Hinami" Touka spoke, "I think it's time for you to go to bed. I'll come up and tuck you in a bit. Us three have to talk, so why don't you go to bed." she finished with a smile that left no room for complaint.

Giving a sign of defeat, Hinami gave Touka a hug before making her way upstairs. Hearing the footsteps fade away, and the sound of a door closing Touka turned to the two.

"Where do we go from here?" Touka started.

They lost everything during the Owl Suppression Operation. The CCG took everything away from them. Their job, their home, and most importantly their family. Just thinking about it caused them to feel nothing but hatred towards the CCG. Especially Touka. She had lost Kaneki during that operation, and she doesn't have a single clue if he's dead or alive. It wasn't fair damn it! What did they do to deserve this! Why did life have to take them all away! Yoshimura, Koma, Irimi, and Kaneki. It was the family those monsters took away.

"Touka!" Yomo's voice cut through her thoughts.

Looking at him she realized Yomo had a stern look on his face. Following his gaze she realized she had activated her kakugan.

"I'm sorry.. " she spoke with a shaky voice. Tears threatened to fall out of her purple orbs, "It's just… why us? We didn't do anything, and yet they still treat us worse than Aogiri Tree" she spoke in a hushed tone. Drops could be seen hitting the table. Looking at Touka she had tears falling out of her eyes. Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder she looked at its source and realized it was Nishiki. He had a sad smile on his face. "It's ok Touka. We'll just build up again. We already bought the new building, and we already know how to run a coffee business. We'll learn from our mistakes, and make sure nothing like that every happens again." He spoke in a caring tone the whole way through his little speech. Wiping her tears she steeled her nerves. She was so lucky to still have some of her family left. They weren't related by blood, but it was the pain they shared that brought them together. She wiped her tears before furiously nodding her head,

Seeing this Nishiki smiled before he spoke, "Well i'm gonna head back home to Kimi. I'll come back by tomorrow, and we can start setting up shop. Watch our blonde friend there to. He shouldn't be waking up until a week minimum." With that he left their little hideout. Yomo put his hand on Touka's shoulder, also giving her his reassurance. Deciding to call it a night Touka made her way up to Hinami's room. She slightly opened it to the point where only the light from the hallway would slightly enter. She realized Hinami was asleep, but still gave her a good night kiss. Even if she was asleep a smile could be seen on Hinami's face. "I'll protect you with my life Hinami" she spoke softly before lightly closing the door.

Making her way towards her room, Touka couldn't help but stare at the door of their guest. Once he was all healed he wasn't their problem anymore. He was lucky enough that Hinami was the one who found him, for if it was her she would have left him. Opening the door to his room she couldn't help but stare at the man. He was hooked up to machines that they had just in case, and he was bandaged like a mummy. The only real thing she could see from the teen was his golden locks of hair that popped out in front of his sleeping eye. His left one was covered by bandages as well. She turned off the lights before giving her visitor one last glance. She didn't know why, but something was off about him. His smell wasn't right. It was like a humans scent, but at the same time it wasn't. He didn't smell like a ghoul. Deciding to save it for a later date she closed the door before making her way towards her own room.

 **Middle of the Night**

Air, it was the only thing his body was all but begging for. He woke up by jolting up from the bed gasping for air. It felt as if he was being constantly pulled by a **Kamui**. Not fun times. What freaked him out was where he was. He was in a room with hospital machinery, but it didn't look or feel like a hospital. Was it someone's home perhaps? He looked out the window to see the moon. That damn moon brought to many problems. Seriously if he had to describe the moon in one word it would be 'Sasuke'. The teme brought so many problems, but luckily he brought him back to the right path. He tried going back to sleep but no matter what he tried he couldn't, so he laid there. He laid there in the dark room, with the only source of light being the illuminating moon. The occasional sounds would also come from the machinery, but after a while he was able to block it out. He laid there staring at the ceiling for who knows how long. That was until he ran into a small little problem.

He had to pee.

Of course if this was someone's home he couldn't just get up, and look around for a bathroom. There was most likely people sleeping, and if one of them got up it would make him seem like an intruder. Naruto laid there wondering on what he should do, and eventually decided that he was going to go.

Taking off all the wires on him; he threw them onto the floor. The noise of the wires hitting the floor could be heard. He had to stay quiet, and so far this wasn't really what he was aiming for. Opening the door very slowly his eye adjusted to the darkness quickly. His one lone eye shining in the darkness. If anyone was to see him they would be mesmerized by how beautiful his eye was. An eye that was as bright as the sky, and a heart that was as wide as the ocean. There was a twinkle in his eye that surprisingly stayed even after the war. He was still the same knucklehead shinobi since he was younger.

After checking all the rooms upstairs he found out that the two of the three residents were sleeping in their own beds. One of them was a child who looked to be around fourteen, and the other was older than him and appeared to be only a year or so older than him. The bathroom also wasn't on the second floor, so with a bit of hesitation he made his way downstairs.

 _ **CR-**_

He stopped instantly. The stairs made to much noise, and he couldn't exactly go back up. Afterall he had to pee! He wasn't going to let some stairs beat him! With that thought in mind Naruto planted the soles of his feet onto the wall where he started to walk on the wall, where he gracefully landed on the ground soundless. He creeped around the house slowly opening each and every door in search of a bathroom, however to his devilish luck he hadn't found a single one. This was bad. His bladder was about to burst. It seemed he had no other option, but to ask the person on the floor below him. He could sense that the person was wide awake due to their emotions. It was if they were training. He found the door that led to the basement, and as soon as he opened it he could hear the person downstairs stopped what they were doing. Their emotions changed from one of determination to alert. "Kuso!" he cursed silently. There was no other way out. He had to let his presence known, or else his bladder was going to explode. Building up courage he spoke.

"Ano! Um… do you think you could show me where the bathroom is. I kinda got lost, and the other two are already sleeping." he spoke with an embarrassed tone.

However he didn't get a reply.

A sudden realization hit him, 'Don't tell me he's one of those silent types! KAMI WHY!'

"Come down here." A gruff voice was heard downstairs.

'Ok so he's one of those silent types. Great.' Naruto thought before he slowly made his way down the stairs. With every step he took the floorboards creaked as if it was signifying his doom. He made it to the dimly lit basement where he noticed where the man was. He was met with a stone-cold face that was glaring at him. The man had gray hair with a single strand framing his face. He wore a black shirt that was very tight on the man, and had sweat stains on it. It was clear to Naruto the man was training. He wore black sweatpant, and wore no shoes. Instead of being intimidated by the man, Naruto gained one of his smiles before breaking the silence between them.

"Anou, could you point me to the bathroom?"

Instead of a response the man kept staring at Naruto. His grey eyes trying to figure Naruto's intentions. The man was clearly on guard. He clearly didn't trust him, but come on! He had to use the bathroom already!

Yomo did have those thoughts but he had a series of questions going. The main one was how was he up already. According to Nishiki the blonde should have been out for a week minimum. Yomo didn't show it, but he was honestly surprised when he heard the blonde speak from the upstairs. It frightened him a little, since the blonde clearly held some skill to surprise him like that. He should have heard him as soon as he got out of the room, yet he didn't.

"So… could you just show me where it is? I'm at the verge on peeing myself, and I doubt both of us want that. It'll save me the humiliation, and it'll save your" he stopped as he gave a look around the room before he looked back at the man, "your floor."

There was another brief silence. Where the blondes one blue visible eye met his two grey ones. The blonde was about to speak up, but Yomo beat him to it.

"Follow me." he said as he passed him, and started making his way up the stairs.

'Finally!' Naruto thought with a sigh of relief as he followed the man.

They were headed towards the stairs, but Naruto noticed something that he didn't notice before. There was a door under the stairs. He cursed himself for his stupidity. The man opened the door, and turned on the lights in the bathroom. Before looking at Naruto as he held the door wide open. Naruto gave the man a small, 'thank you' and entered the bathroom. When he closed the door he immediately took his long awaited piss.

"Ahhhh, so much better" the blonde whispered out as his urine hit the toilet. After what seemed like Forever Naruto finally made his way towards the sink. The bandages were all around his body. Honestly whoever did this had no idea what they were doing. Thank Kami for Kurama's chakra, or else he would probably be dead. He looked back at himself in the mirror. His one blue eye staring back at him with small locks of his sunny blonde hair covering bits of it. His gaze went to his missing arm. There was only a stub there, but he didn't regret it for a second. He brought back Sasuke. That's all that matters. Now to figure out where the hell he was. Naruto proceeded to unwrap the bandages, wanting to see the extent of the damage he had taken. Exposing his chest, nick's off of various battles and from his childhood, could be found all over his body. The one that stood out the most was a large fist sized scar that made it clear he was penetrated through his body. It was when him and Sasuke first fought at the Valley of the End. The **chidori** had punctured his right lung, but luckily Kurama's chakra saved him. The rest was history really. Smiling at the memories he couldn't help but reflect on his life. He sacrificed a lot to bring Sasuke back, and he was happy that in the end he was able to pull him from the darkness. Brothers. That's what they were. They were meant to be brothers the second they were born. Naruto averted his gaze from his body to the bandages that surrounded his face. More specifically his left eye. Honestly, it reminded him a bit of how Kakashi-sensei had his hitai . Once the bandages hit the floor Naruto's eyes widened profoundly.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The high pitched scream could be heard throughout the whole house.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **So i'm not gonna lie. This is my first work that I have written, and if you have checked my profile (you probably haven't) that I don't really think of myself that highly. In fact, it's the exact opposite. I have mixed feelings about this chapter, cause I feel like there's a lot of errors. I'm not sure if there are or not cause I don't know what the errors are. Hopefully that's just me, and that you actually enjoyed this story. I currently have the next chapter ready, but i'm going over it. I'm not going to make Naruto to OP, since you're probably thinking that since he has the rinnegan that he'll destroy everyone in his way. That's not what i'm going for, and i'm sure i'll find a way to show that. I already have a pairing set up, which you'll see in the next chapter. Anyway thanks for reading and please leave comments. I really appreciate the feedback, so that I can improve my writing. In case you want to know more about how I do things then check my profile.**


	2. Settling In

Yomo immediately opened the door to see Naruto on the floor backing away against the mirror. A worried look was evident on Naruto's face. It was if he saw a ghost. He heard a pair of footsteps running down the stairs. It seemed the girlish scream awoke Touka. If he didn't know any better he would think that Hinami got severely injured. Yet this… what he assumed teen. Let out one of the most girlish screams he'd ever heard. His thoughts of the blonde possessing any skill immediately disappeared.

"What's wrong!" Touka yelled in a panic tone as she shoved him lightly to see what was going on. Her kakuja active in case of intruders. All her worries disappeared after seeing the blonde in the bathroom. She assumed something happened to Hinami due to the girlish scream. Her panic turned into slight rage as she realized this teen she barely knew woke her up, and possibly the entire household over nothing.

"What the hell is wrong with you! Do you know how early it is!" she lectured the blond. However the blonde stayed in his fetal position, and acted if he hadn't heard her. It only made her even more mad. "Oi! Did you hear me!" Touka yelled out just above a whisper.

A pair of brown eyes that belonged to a fourteen year old girl could be seen at the base of the steps. She was the one who found the teen, and after the high pitched scream woke her up, she decide to investigate what it was. Her confusion only grew when she heard the voice of her elder sister angrily speaking to someone.

Naruto was in his own thoughts. What he saw caused him to panic. There was no possible way he had that eye. It just wasn't possible. The only other person with that eye was… Sasuke. A flash of memories went through his mind. It wasn't any that he could remember, and that's when it hit weren't his memories… they were Sasuke's. As he went through the memories he saw everything that Sasuke went through. His life, his struggle, his pain. It made Naruto want to connect even more to his best friend. When the memories finally stopped he felt a wave of sorrow hit him. He was still very confused on where he was, and more specifically how he got his best friend's eye. Deciding to dig further into the memories, he found it. Sasuke had knocked him out, and asked Sakura to transplant his left eye into him. Once Sakura took out the **rinnegan** the memories ended. Naruto could give a pretty good assumption to what had happened after that.

Sasuke sacrificed his powers he gained from the Grand Jiji, so he could easily put him back in place. Sasuke gave him the **Rinnegan**. It brought a tear to his eye, but something troubled him. He knew that if he was in his _world_ than he would be waking up to Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei. He was able to sense the surrounding location and there was plenty of people around. That wasn't possible. They hadn't _released_ the **Infinite Tsukuyomi** , and yet there was so much life. Barley any nature, but it was clear to the blond that a lot of people lived here.

"Look at me when I ta-" Touka's yelling was cut off by Naruto's emotionless voice, which caused her to silent up. She knew that voice all to well. It was just like hers, when she was in her teens. Void of emotion. However, she lost that voice after Yoshimura.

"Tell me… do you know where Konoha is?" His hair was overshadowing his eyes. Making his facial expression unknown to the three. The three stood there for a brief moment.

"No." Yomo's voice cut through the silence.

"I see… could you tell me where we are?" he spoke in the same tone. However this time they were able to see a lone tear make its way onto the floor.

"We're in the 20th ward of Tokyo." Yomo once again answered. The answer caused the blonde to grit his teeth. Tears formed in Naruto's eyes before they came out in constant waves. The answer was all he needed to know that he wasn't home. Tears started hitting the floor, which was seen by everyone. Instead of the same anger she felt before, Touka felt as if she could understand the blonde. Clearly what the blonde went through was similar if not the same as what they did.

"Anoue mister" Hinami's voice could be heard behind them. Both Yomo and Touka turned towards her after hearing her voice, "what's your name sir? My name's Hinami!" She spoke happily as she gave the blonde a smile. Instead of an answer, the blonde stood up and walked past the two. He made his way towards Hinami, which caused Touka to tense slightly. However it faded as the blonde simply walked past Hinami. He made his way upstairs and the sound of a door closing could be heard. Touka didn't get mad that he ignored Hinami. No, not at all. She was going to question him tomorrow, and if he didn't answer them he would have something else to cry about. "Hinami" her voice resounded throughout the room getting the girls attention, "go back to bed."

Without wasting a second the girl ran upstairs to her room. Once again closing her door and went to sleep. Touka gave Yomo a look before he nodded, which she then went to her own room to rest.

 **Morning**

It was about eleven in the morning. At the little dining table three people could be seen. Two of them were drinking coffee, while the other had a glass of water. They were currently waiting for their blond haired enigma to wake up. They were also currently waiting for the arrival of Nishiki. After all they had to get the shop set up soon, or else their very small amount of money will turn into nothing. The front door could be hear being opened.

"Mornin!" the tired voice of Nishiki could be heard. Letting out a loud yawn had made it clear to the group of ghouls that he was still in the early stages of being fully awake. Making his way towards the table he had realized something was wrong by the looks on their face. Opening his mouth, he was interrupted by the sound of footsteps making their way down the steps.

' _He's awake already?!'_ Nishiki thought shocked.

Naruto stood there at the bottom of the stairs looking at the group as they also looked upon him. Both parties observing each other. The first thing they realized about Naruto was that he was wearing a black shirt with a strange symbol that resembled fire. He wore orange sweatpants that ended half way down his calves. It was strange. They didn't give him that those clothes, and they had never seen someone dress like that. So how had the blond gotten another set of clothes? He clearly got it somewhere, yet... the question was where? Another thing they took note of was the bandage covering his left didn't seem damaged when they first saw him, but than again they hadn't exactly opened his eye lid. He also adorned what appeared to be a necklace with a green crystal. What shocked them though was the what seemed to be whisker marks on his had stars in her eyes, and her intentions with them was all over her face. He had the bluest eye that twinkled everytime they looked at it. It was rare to see someone with those eyes who wasn't a child that wasn't exposed to the world. Other than that all signs of injury seemed to be… gone. Maybe he was a ghoul, but than his arm would be back to.

Naruto analyzed the people in front of him. This time there were four people instead of the three he met last night, during his bathroom scene. Right now he didn't care for their intentions, but instead wanted to know where he was. He had never heard of a place called 'Tokyo', or even the '20th ward'. It all just confused Naruto even more, and caused him to come to the same conclusion. It wasn't a conclusion that Naruto liked, but he knew no matter what he would endure it. He looked at the four before him. They were obviously trying to figure him out, and the younger girl had stars in her eyes when she looked at his birthmarks. Why does everyone think there whiskers? People have asked him on multiple occasions if they can scratch them to see if he would purr, but everytime he would deny them the chance. He would always get nervous, and defensive when someone asked. Come on! He's a man not a cat for kami's sake! Another thing he picked up was that they were wary around him. He couldn't blame them, after all he was an unknown to them. There was the little girl who seemed to be around fourteen, who had brown hair and brown eyes. She sported a smile on her face, which was directed at him. However he hadn't returned it. The next one was the man he met in the basement. The silent one as Naruto dubbed him. Next was the new man Naruto hadn't seen before. The man had glasses and messy hazelnut hair and eyes. He wore clothes that Naruto had never seen before. All of them were. Finally, there was the purple haired girl. Her hair was in a bob cut, where her hair reached down to her chin, causing the right side of her face to be covered. He had no idea who these people were, but they saved him. They had his appreciation for that, but now was the time to find the answers to his questions. Making his way towards the dining table he stopped a few feet away from them.

"Thank you for saving me!" he all but yelled as he bowed his head. A sweat drop was formed on the four ghouls. The tension between the group and Naruto was instantly gone. They weren't expecting that. The way the blonde was acting; that was actually the last thing they were expecting. They expected him to barge in demanding answers, and not even thank them for saving him.

"Don't worry about it blond-san." Nishiki spoke as he waved him off as he regained his bearing. He was still weary about the blond, but after witnessing that… there was no way this guy could be a threat to them. Naruto instantly perked his head up with his twinkling eye. He let out a small smile before taking a seat in one of the chairs.

Once again there was a silence between the two. Surprisingly it was Hinami who broke it.

"Anoue… i'm sorry to ask Mr. but what's your name?" Hinami asked with the same happy expression as before.

Naruto seeing this gave out his own smile before answering, "My name's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto at your service, dattebayo!" He replied with the same enthusiasm as Hinami. The little girl just smiled even more at this. The idea of the blond being a threat was still there, but seeing his interaction with Hinami brought a small smile to Touka's face. She hadn't seen Hanami this happy since… since… since Kaneki.

"So, what are you Naruto-san?" Nishiki asked clearly wanting to get straight to the point.. It was clearly a question, but it held a lot of meaning to it.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked confused.

Nishiki's face turned serious instantly, "I'm asking if you're a human or a ghoul? There's nothing much to it." He spoke with a dangerous tone. Naruto didn't like that tone. It was obviously a threat depending on his answer.

' _The hell's a ghoul?_ ' Naruto thought. Back in the Elemental Nations they had never had such a word. The way the chestnut haired guy spoke made it clear to him the two sides didn't really like each other that much. It seemed that this world was also consumed by the cycle of hatred.

"What's a ghoul?" he asked innocently. Clearly Naruto didn't know what a ghoul was. It caused their eyes to widen slightly. Had he been living under a rock his entire life? Almost everyone knew of the existence of ghouls, yet this teen clearly didn't.

"How do you not know what a ghoul is?" Nishiki asked a bit annoyed. He had to be playing with them! There was no possible way he doesn't know. It made him grit his teeth just thinking about it. This guy wasn't going to act clueless about their existence!

"Stop lying!" Nishiki spoke with silent rage, "Don't act like you don't know!" he all but yelled at Naruto. He slammed his hand on the table as he did, and at that moment Naruto knew everything. They were these so called ghouls. Closing his eyes, Naruto gained a peaceful smile on his face, and waited for Nishiki to calm down. Once he did he opened his eyes again and spoke, "I have no idea what a ghoul is, but from your little outburst it's clear to me you're all 'ghouls'." His statement brought a sudden shocked reaction out of all of them. They were surprised that he got that much from Ginshi's outburst, "but I don't care if you are. Honesty you guys saved my life, so you have my gratitude," His words soothed the group but they were still on edge, "Now… could one of you tell me a bit about where I am?" he spoke innocently. It made them grow a mental sweat drop with the same thought in mind, 'He can't be serious.' However when they looked at him they realized he was being completely serious, 'He's serious!'

"What do you mean Naruto-san?" Hinami asked confused by his phrasing.

"Please don't add the -san. I'm not one for formalities, and what I mean is… I have no idea where I am." he spoke with a cheerful smile.

"What?" was the only thing Hinami could respond with. She was still very confused.

"Eh? Do you really want me to spell it out for you?"

The others were also confused by his phrasing. By the way he talked he acted as if he wasn't from this world. That was outrageous. There's no way a man, yet alone this simple teen could be from another world.

Naruto seeing their confused gazes decided to speak up again, "Well could you guys tell me more about what's going on and stuff? Like the general information? Especially what a ghoul is. I've never heard of those." he spoke with the same cheerfulness still in his voice.

The three looked at each other with unease. If word got around that they were ghouls they were done for. It was bad enough that the CCG already knew of Hinami's origin.

"A ghoul is a carnivorous and cannibalistic species who are only able to feed of off humans and other ghouls" Touka started as Naruto's eyes widened at the statement, "They're almost like a human in appearance, but we have a different inner biology than them. We have what is called a kakuja, where our pupils turn red and our sclera turns pure black. When that is active than a ghouls kagune can come out. There's four different types of kagunes a ghoul could have. The Ukaku, Kakaku, Rinkaku, and Bikaku. Each one having its own benefits, and advantageous over the other." she stopped as she looked at Naruto to see if he was listening. He had his eyes closed, but seemed to be very intrigued. It seemed he was taking in the information and dissecting it. "Unlike humans us ghouls don't have to eat every day, but instead have to eat a body at least one or every two months. We can't eat human food, or else it'll make us sick. Due to our predatory nature there are humans who hunt and kill ghouls. Due to our enhanced physical traits they use what is known as a quinque. It's a weapon that was made from ghoul's kakuhou."

He nodded at this. It confirmed his thoughts of this world being in the same cycle of hatred as his. However unlike his world it seemed to be the nature of things. Where in his world wars were started out of greed and revenge. Hopefully they find a way to release the **Infinite Tsukuyomi** back home, or else his world was done for if he couldn't find a way back.

He couldn't blame the ghouls for having to kill. After All, it's the only way they can survive, so their killings could be justified. However, It seemed the humans in this world didn't see it that way. Itachi's words hit him like a brick. It was the words of his best friend Shisui's, ' _I don't know if there is such a thing as justice in the shinobi world. We fight believing in our own justice. But if the enemy's doing the same thing, who's right?'_ The words was something Naruto always took to heart. ' _I guess it's there way of justice. You can't blame the ghouls for having to kill, but at the same time you can't blame the humans for wanting to protect themselves.'_ Naruto thought.

Opening his eye he looked at Touka, and what he said next shocked all of them. They were expecting him to freak out, but no. He sat there with a smile on his face and spoke.

"Your secret is safe with me. You can't blame someone for trying to survive." he gave out a small chuckle, "I know I would do the same thing if I was in your shoes, and I know how it feels to be looked upon as a monster. As long as you don't kill for fun you're A.O.K. in my book." he spoke in a warm tone. A smile plastered on his face the whole time.

It seemed that he was different. Instead of seeing a monster all he saw was another living being trying to survive. How could someone have a mindset like that in this world. They were once again cut out of their musings by Naruto.

"After all I guess ghouls and I aren't so different. If people find out about my abilities, I wouldn't know what they would do to obtain my power for their own use or to kill me." He spoke with a sad smile.

"What do you mean?" Yomo spoke out in a cautious tone. The blond was still an unknown to them.

"Well you see Yomo-san, I believe it is. I guess the only real conclusion I can draw up is that... " he paused as he scratched the back of his head with a smile on his face, "i'm from a different world."

Once again their eyes widened. A person from a different world? That's impossible isn't it?

Hinami's eyes widened and twinkled like the star. A flashback of seeing the 'shooting star' come crashing into the ground. It wasn't a star she realized. It was Naruto.

"You were the star" Hinami spoke in awe.

"I guess I was." Naruto said as he let out a chuckle.

The others were still trying to process what Naruto said. They were in denial. There was no proof that he was, and there was no way he could show them. That was until they realized he mentioned something about his power. The blond was clearly delusional, and Nishiki couldn't help but start laughing. The laughter only increased before he started banging the table.

"AHAHAHA! THAT'S...THAT'S HILARIOUS!"...he spoke in between laughs, "W-what? You think we were born yesterday?" he asked mockingly.

A frown graced Naruto's face. He couldn't blame them for thinking he was lying. After all if a random stranger told him he was from another world, he would probably tell them, 'that's great'. In a world where people can manifest giant ethereal warriors, and a giant orange fox that's the size of a mountain… a person from another world doesn't sound so far fetched. But this wasn't his world.

They were cut out of their thoughts when Yomo decided that enough was enough. He didn't care if the blond was lying or not, he just wanted to know if he was a threat or not. From what he's seen a one armed teen who claims to be from another world isn't a threat at all. In fact it just seemed to be a crazy kid. Maybe he was just collateral damage, and it did some brain damage when he hit the ground.

"Nishiki, Touka, i'm going to go and unload the supplies in the new cafe." Yomo spoke with the same cold-stone face as before.

"Could I come too!" both Hinami and Naruto yelled out with excited expressions. It was if the two could read each other minds. Yomo turned to Touka where she nodded at him, before he turned to Naruto asking him an unspoken question. Naruto realizing this spoke, "It's the least I could do for saving my life. Plus with me there it'll go by quicker." he spoke with the same foxy grin.

Yomo just sighed before he nodded to the blond. Naruto gave out a small victory shout before running out the door. The occupants in the room just stared at his actions dumbfoundedly before Hinami followed suit with Naruto's actions. It seemed Hinami grew a liking to the blond. Once Yomo excited the house he realized Naruto was just standing there. He had a shocked expression on his face, and was clearly amazed by all the new sights before him. It made Yomo wonder just so slightly if Naruto's words held any truth to them. He tapped the blond's shoulder, getting his attention he started walking towards his car.

Naruto was truly amazed. Never in his life did he think he would see something like this. Honestly he was acting like a baby in a candy store. There was so much to do and see in this new world, but he had to find a way back home as soon as possible. From what he understood it seemed that no one used chakra in this world, but that didn't mean they weren't strong. No. From what he understood ghouls could be very powerful, and CCG investigators weren't to be taken lightly either. Yomo had expected the information to make the blond nervy, but Naruto seemed completely care-free. To Naruto it meant that the world had a lot to show him, but more importantly… he had a lot to show the world who Uzumaki Naruto was!. First thing first after he settled into this new world was to check on Kurama… well actually first thing first was to see if they had ramen in this world. Than he can check on the lazy fox. He could sense the fox's presence in him, but it seemed he was still resting from the battle. After that though… he had no clue.

The whole drive Naruto was staring out the windows. He was still in awe at all the the new things he was seeing. Hinami giggled at his expression, but Yomo had his usual stone-cold expression on the whole drive. The world truly fascinated Naruto. Hinami was telling him about how it all worked, like the technology, history, and even the size of the world. It seemed as if she was the only one out of the four who believed him. She even started calling him 'Star-kun' much to his annoyance. He tried to get it changed to anything else but the only other suggestions were 'Sun-kun' or 'Baka'. Clearly he chose the best out of the three. When they finally arrived to the destination Naruto excited the car, and held the door open for Hinami. She gave him a smile before the two of them followed Yamo inside. Inside it was a fairly large cafe. It had boxes all over the place, and it was clearly in need of cleaning due to all the dust.

"So this is your cafe?" Naruto asked.

"Yep!" Hinami replied with joy.

Naruto gave her a wide smile before turning to Yomo. "So are the other two going to come as well?"

Yomo glanced at him before nodding.

"Well where can I start. Let's get this finished before they get here." He spoke with a sincere smile.

"Star-kun are you saying you're going to do everything by yourself?" Hinami asked curiously. Yomo gave a glance towards the two also wondering how he was going to pull that off. He only had one arm, and there were too many things to arrange and set up. All Naruto die was poke her forehead before he looked at Yomo.

"I understand you don't believe what I said but... " he put his hand in a certain position that was unfamiliar with them. Naruto had his middle and index finger out while the other fingers were folded into his hand. Hinami however had her eyes as wide as ever, "let me show you something only people from my world can do." With that what happened next actually shocked them. Hinami's jaw dropped to the floor, and Yomo showed actual emotion for the first time towards Naruto. His eyes were wide open, and his mouth was agape. There standing in front of them wasn't just one Naruto, but _twenty_.

"Well let's get started." he said as he and the clones went to unpack each and every individual box. Yomo and Hinami stood there watching the clones. He had Hinami direct them to where everything was supposed to go, and she looked as if she was greatly enjoying herself. It brought a small smile to the stoic man's face seeing Hinami like this. To believe some blond would come into their life like this, and make Hinami forget all about their problems. Maybe they could keep the blonde a bit longer. He believed Naruto now. At first he thought he was mentally insane, but after seeing this… it really blew his mind. Looking to his right his eyes widened even more when an image of a smiling Yoshimura appeared next to him. He seemed to be looking at the blond with a smile before turning to him. Like that he was gone; however Yomo couldn't help but hear Yoshimura's philosophy ringing through his mind. If he was here, he would have accepted the blond immediately without a second thought. He would have probably offered him a job as well. At that thought Yomo's eyes barley widened. Closing his eyes a smile crept on his lips. He knew what Yoshimura would do, and he sure as hell was going to keep the old man's dream alive. A place where people could feel safe and cared for. A place where both humans and ghouls could interact with each other without knowing each others true origin. Maybe the blond could help them. Yomo couldn't help but see something in the blond's eye that reminded him so much of his former mentors. That was a desire to help others.

An hour or two later everything was done. What was supposed to take an entire week to finish with four people, was all finished by one person, or twenty of the same person. Everything was just like they envisioned it. He had to thank the blond after this, however he was cut from his thoughts when Naruto spoke to him behind the counter.

"I know it's a start but I promise i'll repay you guys for what you did" he started with a smile, "I hope everything's above your expectations."

Yomo turned to Naruto. That's when he saw it again. The same gleam and smile that Yoshimura had whenever they had helped someone. He saw that Hinami was playing with his clones, since they were just like him. Goofy and fun to be around. He could see the pure happiness in Hinami's eyes. She was bugging him to show her more cool tricks like that, and if Naruto could teach her. Sadly all she got was either a smile or a tease from the clones. It was amusing really. Watching Naruto's clones fight with each other. Even though their words were headed towards someone else they were really at the end insulting themselves.

"Who are you calling a baka! Baka!" One of the clones yelled out getting Yomo's and Naruto's attention.

"You. Who else has that ugly mug of yours." The second Naruto clone responded.

"OI! YOU CAN'T BE TALKING!"

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" The second clone asked again as it poked the first clones chest.

"BECAUSE YOUR ME BAKA!"

"W-WHAT! NO WAY! YOU'RE SO MUCH MORE UGLIER THAN THE REST!" The second clone yelled in shock.

The first clone started producing steam out of its nose and ears before a third clone intervened, "Oh come on you two. Surely we can get along. I mean we're all the same person."

It seemed to calm things down however a fourth clone intervened, "I don't know. The first one does look kinda ugly to me." He spoke as he was rubbing his chin.

"Eh!" The first clone shouted, "You're all just mad that I beat you in poker!" He declared triumpfly.

"No you idiot, that was me remember?" A fifth clone interjected.

Eventually more and more clones started gathering before an all out argument spewed between them. All arguing about who was the winner of their poker tournament, which was originally a game of three.

The real Naruto had a rain cloud above his head while he mulled in the croner.

Yomo seeing that the clones interaction only made Hinami smile even more. It seemed the blond had an affect on people.

Looking at the gloomy blond he grew a barely noticeable smile.

" Thank you… Naruto"

Looking at the man Naruto was surprised, "Eh! So you can show other emotions than your stone cold expression. Honestly Yomo-san if I didn't know any better I would say that you were planning to kill me" Naruto teased in a playful tone. He was again surprised when instead of his face returning back to it's stone-cold expression he let out a chuckle.

"Who knows Naruto. Maybe I am?"

Naruto's face instantly changed from one of playfulness to one of nervousness.

"D-don't joke around like that Yomo-san." Naruto said nervously.

However, Yomo just smiled. He was definitely going to ask the other two if they were fine with keeping Naruto. These past few hours he slightly warmed up to the blond after proving him wrong. The noise of a jingle could be heard as the door opened. In an instant the clones poofed away causing Hinami to jump. In came Touka and Nishiki. Both of them had wide eyes as they saw the cafe was completely decorated and furnished.

"Yomo… you did all of this?" Touka asked.

Shaking his head he pointed at the smiling blond who was leaning against the counter looking at the two. He had a peaceful smile on his face as he had his face leaning into his left hand.

"Yo!" Naruto shouted.

Touka stood there staggered, wondering how he managed to do it.

"Turns out he's actually is from a different world. Honestly almost gave me a heart attack after the stunt he pulled." Yomo spoke once again surprising the two.

The two were honestly shocked by that. Their questions increased even more, but they were cut off when Naruto spoke, "Don't worry about me. I'll be out of your hair in no time." he finished with a smile. Hinami however pouted slightly. She grew quite fond of Naruto, and she didn't want him to leave already.

Yomo hearing this decided to get things out of the way.

"Naruto?" Yomo spoke catching Naruto's attention.

Naruto turned to him with a confused look, "Eh?"

With a genuine smile he changed the course of the world, "How would you like to work here?"

The response was instant.

"EHHHHHH! You barely know me and you're already offering me a job? Please don't feel that it's your responsibility to take care of me. I can take care of myself just fine, and i'll be gone in a day or so in search of a way home." Don't get him wrong he was truly flattered by the offer, but he didn't want to be an even greater annoyance than he already was.

"It's fine Naruto. I saw the look in your eye. It reminded me of… someone, and i know they would do the same-" glancing to Touka and Ginishi he saw they got the meaning. "-plus i'll gladly help you try to find a way home."

Naruto was torn. He hadn't even been here for a full day, and yet he was already offered a life here. What about everyone back home? Surely he had to go back and save them, but… what if there was no way back home. He would be all alone again with nothing. No friends, no money, nothing. Here it was an opportunity for a fresh start, while also looking for a way back. The answer was obvious, but he didn't want to join something where only half of the people like him and the other half tolerate him.

"I'm sorry Yomo-san but I really don't want to make Nishiki-san or Touka-san uncomfortable with my presence." he spoke sincerely.

Yomo just looked at the two and waited for them to speak. Naruto noticing this looked between the three waiting for something to happen. Touka and Nishiki gave him a knew nothing about him except that he claims to be from another world. His words earlier today were genuine, and he showed no signs of deceit. He didn't even seem bothered when they told him they ate humans. It was if he accepted it, and said 'oh well that's life'. He was an enigma. An enigma they all wanted to solve. Not only that but, Yomo vouched for the blond, and Yomo isn't a man to take people in without precautions. With a heavy heart she turned her gaze onto Naruto.

"I wouldn't mind your presence Naruto-san. As long as you don't harm anyone than i'm completely fine with you staying here." Touka spoke.

They turned to Nishiki. Noticing their looks he spoke, "Eh I don't care. You seem like a nice guy, so let him stay." he spoke uncaringly.

Yomo looked at Naruto as if he was waiting on an answer. Seeing this, Naruto let out a long sigh before rubbing his temple. Honestly this was a hard decision. Coming to an answer Naruto opened his eye and looked at them. They were all clearly waiting for his answer.

"Fine! Fine!" he yelled as he made it sound like it wasn't a big deal.

This got a shout of joy from Hinami, which Touka smiled at. Maybe she did come to the right decision.

"So when do we open?" Naruto asked.

"We'll stick to schedule and open next week. For now you can go rest, and we'll-" Yomo was cut off by the sound of a stomach grumbling. It caused the blonde to gain an embarrassed blush as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hehe, gomen I haven't eaten in days… due to circumstances." he spoke solemnly remembering the war.

However he got out of his solemn mood as Hinami took his hand, "What do you want to eat Naruto?"

Naruto's eyes lit up at her question. If they had the food of the gods here than this got a hundred times better than he originally thought, "Ramen" he replied instantly. She gave him a nod before Yomo took out his wallet and gave them some money. Naruto tried to tell the man to keep it, but he insisted. Called it his earnings for putting everything in place. Giving a quick 'thank you' to the man, Hinami and him left the shop in search of ramen.

The three remaining people in the cafe watched the two rush out the cafe. Touka gave out a long sigh before turning to Nishiki, "Could you go and make sure they don't get lost." she asked tiredly.

Nishiki nodded as he followed the scent of the two.

When Nishiki left Touka immediately turned to Yomo for answers.

"What did he do that changed your mind?" Touka asked curiously.

"Honestly… i'd be better if you found out yourself." he gave out a chuckle, "it'll be a nice way to pass the time as we solve the enigma that's Uzumaki Naruto." he finished with a smile. Touka couldn't help but nod at his words.

 **With Naruto and Hinami**

They found a ramen shop pretty quickly. To be honest Naruto was the one who found it. When she asked how he did all he replied was, "I can smell the food of the gods anywhere." He spoke about it with such passion that it actually made Hinami sweat drop. They entered the building and noticed that it wasn't to crowded. It had a couple of customers. Some were with others and some were by themselves, but someone stood out to Naruto. It was a short blue haired girl who appeared to be around his age. She has two thick sections of hair which were in pigtails, and has fringed bangs. She had the brightest blue eyes Naruto had ever seen and to be honest he was entrapped by them. However the beauty of her eyes didn't match their twinkle. She was clearly depressed over something. He didn't know why but it caused his heart to hurt. It was the same feeling whenever he saw Sasuke get hurt, but… this felt more intense. Deciding that he would cheer someone's day up he sat at the table across from her. Hinami noticed this and was about to go when she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she turned around she saw Nishiki shake his head.

"Let's wait outside." he spoke to her. Giving Naruto a last glance she went outside with Nishiki to wait for him.

Naruto sat across the table from the blue haired girl. She noticed this and was giving him a weird look, but he just gave her a smile. For some strange reason it caused her to become flustered on the inside.

' _What does this guy think he's doing_?' the teen thought.

"What do you want?" the blue haired girl spoke in an uncertain tone.

Naruto's smile slightly drop at the tone of her voice. He had heard that tone many times. How couldn't he. It was the same tone the villagers used with him when he was younger. Closing His eyes he scratched the back of his head. He really didn't know what to say.

"Anoue sorry, but I noticed you looked a bit sad, and me being me wanted to cheer you up… I guess." he spoke with a small warm smile. He honestly had no idea why he was doing this, but if it made someone feel slightly better than why not?

The smile caused her to relax for some reason. It was if that warm smile caused all her problems to go away. But then again what could he do?

"My problems don't involve you" she spoke as her bangs shadowed her eyes.

Naruto's smile was reduced to a frown at her words.

"That's true… but that doesn't mean I still can't help in some way. Kami knows what baa-chan would do to me if she finds out that I left a pretty girl sad without doing anything to cheer her up. She'd punch me through the wall if she did, so… i'm sure there's some way I can help" he finished with a wide smile. It was true… if his baa-chan found out about it she would _actually_ punch him through the wall.

Saiko's eyes widened at that. No one had ever been this nice to her. Now all of a sudden, this stranger walks into the restaurant and tells her he'll help. Just who exactly was this guy? Before she could even have time to speak up he called the chef over and had her order any dish she wanted, and then proceeded to order his own food. His order shocked the chef, but she was to busy trying to figure out this person's intentions. There was no way someone was this nice? Right? As she was in her thoughts she couldn't stop looking at the blond. His sunny blonde hair, his blue eye that sparkled with mischief, the whisker like marks on his face. Oh how she wanted to see if he would purr if she petted them. She also realized some bad things about the stranger as well. He was missing his right arm, and what appeared to be his left eye as well if the bandage around it was anything to go by. What had happened to him? Once the food arrived they ate in silence, or well she ate in silence, since Naruto instantly ate all five of his bowls as if he was devouring air. It honestly brought a smile to her face and even a chuckle. Maybe things weren't to bad.

Seeing the smile and hearing the chuckle Naruto couldn't help but feel happy. He left the money at the table,. "See you later Blue-chan" he spoke as he left the restaurant. She didn't know why but the blond was different. It was a weird feeling, but who knows. The whole interaction with him was just strange. With a few simple words, and actions he changed her day from depressed to happy. Who knew where the future led her. Maybe the operation won't go that bad, and she'll have friends. Another smile came to her face before she silently thanked the blond stranger. Hopefully she would run into him again, so she could thank him properly.

 **With Naruto**

He didn't know why, but his heart was pounding very fast. It never pounded this fast. The only time it ever did was when he was in a life or death situation, and even then it wasn't like this. This however was totally different. It wasn't like the battle instinct he was used to, but… something warm. It reminded him a bit when he was hugged by his mother, or the tearful goodbye he gave to his father. ' _Hopefully he told mom everything.'_ was his thought. He couldn't place a finger on it, but he knew he would be seeing more of the blue haired girl. When he left the shop he saw both Nishiki and Hinami looking at him with horrified expressions.

"Y-you… " Nishiki started as he wasn't able to form words, "ramen…" was all he muttered at what he just witnessed. He just saw Naruto all but inhale _five_ _extra large_ bowls of ramen. It intrigued him but at the same time disgusted him. There was no reason for someone to eat that fast.

Scratching the back of his head with his one arm he smiled at them, "You guys wanna go back?"

They both got out of their trance and the three walked back to the coffee shop. When they got back both Yomo and Touka turned to look at them. A confused look making its way on their face as they looked at Nishiki and Hinami looking at Naruto strangely. The blond sported a smile on his face as if nothing was wrong.

"Hinami, Nishiki, what's wrong?"

They both turned to her with the same horrified expression and muttered only one thing with pure disgust, "Ramen."

"Say Touka-san" Naruto started, "you wouldn't mind teaching me more about this world, would ya?" he asked hopefully.

The purple haired girl gave the blond a calculative look. She still had doubts about him being from another world, but what Yomo said made her think. Just what if he was? It would explain his fascination in the world, and he obviously didn't know what a ghoul was. Maybe she could learn something about the blond enigma, in return for information on this world.

"Sure, but on one condition…" she spoke softly getting the blondes attention.

"Which is?"

"You know you're not the only one interested in a different world? We basically know nothing about you, and only Yomo and Hinami know something."

"Eh! You know all you had to do was ask, right?" Naruto spoke blankly.

At his words the three ghouls gained a sweatdrop. He was acting as if it wasn't a big deal for him to be in another world. Just how innocent was he?

"Well Naruto, why don't you start first than?"

"Eh! What happened to ladies first? Don't tell me you guys don't do that here?" Naruto spoke in an unbelievable tone. They thought that he was teasing at first, but when they saw the confusion in his eyes they realized he wasn't.

Letting out a sigh Touka spoke, "Yes Naruto, we do have the saying 'ladies first' here. What I meant is that we can tell you the difference between your world and ours if we understand it a bit better."

The blondes eyes lit up in realization, "AH! So it's like sharing ramen topping?" They all sweatdropped at his joyous reply.

'Does he only think about ramen?' Were the thoughts of the ghouls.

Taking a seat Naruto put his hand to his chin, and ruffled his face together. 'Where to start…' Naruto thought.

Opening his eyes he realized that all eyes were on him. They were obviously all interested on what he had to say.

"I come from a world known as the Elemental Nations. Where there's constant war, and a world filled with shinobi."

Already they were hooked. A world with constant war? Sure they lived the same, but those were mostly skirmishes between ghouls and the CCG with the occasional raid.

"Wait, wait, wait…" Nishiki started, "Shinobi? As in ninjas?" He asked questioningly.

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?"

"It just already seems like something out of an anime or manga. We don't even know if you're lying to us or not. The only thing we do know is that we found you in a crater, and than you helped Yomo and Hinami set up the cafe. A job that was supposed to take a week was finished in a me-AHHHHHHH! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" He said pointing at the _second_ Naruto.

"Nishiki you sure you aren't a girl?" Naruto teased. The scream was probably higher than his last night. The reason he made a clone was so the ghoul would shut up. His world was a touchy subject to him, yet here he was telling people he knew, for not even a day, all about his home.

Touka however was in the same state as Nishiki. Of course she didn't scream, but… how?

"Can I continue?"

"H-how the hell did you do that?" Nishiki stuttered out as he started poking the clone. He was obviously in awe. It wasn't everyday you see someone make a copy of himself, let alone a physical one.

"Can you stop poking me?" The Naruto clone spoke a bit agitated. Nishiki however ignored the clone and kept poking it. Eventually Nishiki started inspecting it.

"You know it's an exact copy of me right?" Naruto asked.

Nishiki hearing the blond; turned to him, "W-what? H-how did you… just… what?"

Naruto gained a small smile. They had to believe him now. Unless there was some way to make clones of yourself, but based on their reactions he highly doubted that.

"It's called a shadow clone, and if you would sit down i'll tell you all about it." Naruto spoke calmly.

Nishiki immediately took a seat next to Naruto. It seemed he once again had all of their attention. Dispelling the clone, which made Nishiki let out a small 'eep', Naruto continued.

"Mmm… where was I?" Naruto thought out loud.

"You said something about a world with constant war and shinobi" Touka reminded him. She was obviously intrigued as well.

"Ah thank you!" Naruto replied happily with a smile, "It's a world where the impossible is possible. There's no limit to what a shinobi can do, and the thing's we're able to pull of are incredible. Basically a shinobi's job is to serve the village, and there's five big ones. There's Kumo, Kiri, Iwa, Suna, and finally my home Konoha." He stopped as he gained a distant look before continuing, "Well anyways, the five villages compete against each other, which always leads to constant war in the smaller countries. So far there's been Four Great Shinobi Wars. Each one worse than the other." He spoke solemnly.

Flashback's were appearing in Naruto's mind. The fight against Madara, than eventually him fighting the reanimated jinjuriki, fighting Obito, and eventually… Neji's death. All of those scenes went through his mind as if he was reliving them. Shaking his head he continued, "That doesn't mean it was that bad… there were moments of peace between the villages, and i'm sure after the last one there won't be one ever again." His voice changed back into it's go lucky attitude. A smile plastered on his face, which seemed to wash his worries away. "Basically us Shinobi use this energy called chakra, which is inside our bodies. I don't know to much about it since… I wasn't really paying to much attention in class. But… I do know the basics of it. Chakra is the essence of when spiritual energy and physical energy combined. With it you're able to control the five elements, and with enough training the possibilities are endless." Naruto's tone was joyful throughout his whole explanation. It seemed he really admired his world, "What else, what else…" Naruto thought out loud, "OH! There's a ranking system for us shinobi too. After you graduate from the academy you become a genin, and after that is chunin, than Jonin, and then finally the leader of my village the Hokage!" he finished as he pumped his fist into the air.

"Sugoi…" Hinami started, "Say, say, Star-kun! What rank are you?" Hinami spoke as she had stars in her eyes. The entire time she was leaned in as she wanted to hear every detail of Naruto's world. After all she was the one who found him.

At that Naruto gained a nervous smile. "Ah… currently i'm a genin, but that's not going to stop me from becoming Hokage! Dattebayo!" The same enthusiasm and determination sparkled in his eyes. Instead of laughing at his rank, Hinami's eyes grew wider at his declaration.

Hinami wasn't the only one who was awed at the blond's determination. Touka herself looked at his eye. His eye was so broken the night before, and now… now that one lone cerulean blue eye sparkled as if it could do anything in the world.

Yomo couldn't help but gain a small smile, and Nishiki withheld his teasing. Hearing about the blonds world, it was clear to him, if not all of them, that the blond went through something. Than again everyone does. It just amazed him how easily his personality changed.

One thing they could all agree on was that they were confused on when Naruto said there would be no more wars. Surly a world like that couldn't just become all goody goody after a war. Or maybe something drastic happened?

"Well I guess that's everything summed up. Say Touka-san, what about this world?" Naruto spoke happily.

However instead of response all Naruto got was a book hitting his face. Falling out of his chair Naruto got up angrly, "OI! THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" Naruto yelled out as he clenched his one arm in front of him.

"It's called a book." Touka replied.

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO THROW IT AT ME!"

Touka however just shrugged at his response, before turning to Hinami, "Hinami, could you explain to him the things he doesn't get?"

Hinami looked at her older sister before furiously nodding.

Calming down a little Naruto looked at the book that was on the floor.

'A Dummies Guide to Tokyo' Naruto read the name of the book. There was a small thinking period as the information processed through Naruto's brain. Turning around he pointed a accusing finger at Touka, "OI! WHO DO YOU THINK I AM!" Naruto yelled at her. His eyes were blank white and had a tick mark on his forehead.

Touka gave him an innocent look, "You said you wanted to know more. Plus I think this'll suit you the best."

Naruto fumed at her words. Taking a seat next to Hinami; the latter started teaching the former all about the world.

* * *

 **So Chapter 2... Not gonna lie i'm kinda nervous posting this. I don't really have that much of a high self esteem for my self, but I think it's ready to be put up. One of my main concerns is probably repeating my self, or my choice of words. Another thing i'm also concerned about is the dialogue between characters. Let's just hope that's just me, and that I actually wrote something that you guys enjoyed. Thank you so much for the reviews, and if you have any suggestions, or would like to mention something that i'm not doing right. Than feedback is very much appreciated, so I could make my writing better for all of you. I decided to write this chapter a bit longer, since in the previous one I got a review saying that the Sasuke/Naruto interaction was a bit to long, and honestly I have to agree. Hopefully this makes up for that, and the next chapter will be shorter than these two. Why you may ask? Well i'll tell you in the next chapter. Thank's for reading! Till next time!**


	3. Aogiri Tree

**Naruto's Crash Site**

Van's and tent's could be seen around the crash site of Naruto. There was caution tape all around the sites, and plenty of people were inspecting the craters left behind. One of these people was a man named Ryoujirou Shiba. Otherwise known as among his colleagues. is an old man who seems to be in his late 60's. He has no eyebrows, and always has a lazy look in his eyes. The most noticeable feature about him are his thick, gruffy mustache, and his glasses with oblong were currently investigating on what seemed to be a meteor hit the outskirts of Tokyo. However what puzzled not just him, but everyone else investigating the area. Was that there was no meteor to be found. Absolutely nothing. It was if the craters just appeared by themselves.

' _This really is a doozy_ ' thought. Him and his team were deployed here to possible do some research on the flying object that came from the sky. They wanted to test out what would happen if they implemented parts of meteors into quinques, and possibly what would happen if they implemented it into a Quinx's frame. So far they had no luck finding any pieces a meteor left behind. Not even a pebble.

Letting out a sigh, massaged his temples. He was clearly stressed out, and the operation for the Quinx wasn't making it any better. The operation for the four candidates was only two weeks away, yet he was already nervous.

' _Yes, those four had the perfect body structure to hold the four kakuhou. With the ghoul who'll be mentoring them. I have no doubt they'll be a great asset for the CCG_ ' Shiba thought.

"SIR! We found something!" A girlish voice yelled at the old man.

's eyes widened at that. Making his way past the caution tape; he made his way towards the middle of the large crater. He took notice that the girl who was digging in this area hadn't dug out the object of interest yet. However, when he looked at the hole she made. He was surprised to find a pouch instead. Picking up the pouch he noticed that it didn't have any tears on it, and seemed to be in a good condition. The pouch was circular and had a beige color to it. Opening the pouch his eyes widened on what he found inside. There were many kunai and shurikens, but what puzzled him the most was the paper found in the bag. It had strange writing on it, one that he has never seen before, and a scroll in it. The scroll seemed to have a lock on it, and had a kanji for seal. Next to the scroll a book was found with the title, _Tales of a Gutsy Ninja_.

"Intesting... " muttered to himself.

Turning to the finder he held up the bag, "Where did you find this?" He asked calmly.

Standing up from the ground the excavator spoke, "It was a bit under the ground Doctor."

Nodding at her words he explored the insides again. Turning the pouch his lazy eyes picked up something he hadn't seen before.

In the pouch laid writing that read, 'Property of Uzumaki Naruto'.

"I wouldn't suppose we have a Uzumaki Naruto on our team?" He was looking at the name on the pouch, but it was clear to the girl that the question was directed at her.

"I'll check right away Doctor." She replied as she went to one of the vans.

' _Interesting… it seems that it wasn't a meteor that hit here, but... but possibly a person?'_ thought before following the girl.

 **With Naruto**

"ACHOO!" Naruto sneezed out.

"Come on Star-kun! You almost got your disgusting snot all over me and the book!" Hinami yelled at him.

"Oi! It's not my fault someone's thinking about me!" Naruto yelled back.

"Pfffff. Don't make me laugh. Who would be thinking about you Star-kun?" Hinami replied teasingly.

Naruto stood up in a defensive position, "I'll have you know I have a lot of people thinking of me! I have Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme, Baa-..." he stopped mid way when he was about to say his surrogate grandmothers name. Naruto gained a downcast expression before staring at the floor.

"I almost forgot they're still in the **Infinite Tsukuyomi** …" Naruto muttered out.

No one had heard him except Hinami who was paying close attention.

"What's that?" Hinami asked curiously.

Hearing this Naruto gained a sad smile before looking at Hinami, "Don't worry about it." he told her as he ruffled her hair, "It's my problem so it doesn't concern you or anyone from here." The same smile was plastered on his lips.

Hinami seeing the smile gained a mischievous one, "It's probably the blue haired girl from the ramen shop." she teased.

Naruto however didn't get it which caused him to look at Hinami confused. Blinking a few times he spoke, "Why would she be thinking about me?"

Hinami just keep the mischievous smile and glean, "Ah who knows. I'm surprised you're not the one thinking about her."

"Oi Hinami, are you sure you didn't hit your head or something?" Naruto asked blankly.

There was a pause between the two. In an instant Hinami turned around and started waving her hands side to side as he face changed from a teasing one to an angry one, "WHAT! SHUT UP BEFORE I HIT YOUR HEAD ON SOMETHING YOU IDIOT!"

Naruto became a little nervous before he backed up a little on his chair. Closing his eye he couldn't help but laugh.

"Ma, ma Hinami-chan. I'm just confused why you would think that." Naruto said as he tried to calm the girl down. It seemed to work slightly as she stopped her yelling.

"Huh? You know it's pretty simple really, but I guess someone as dense as you won't get it."

Naruto however was still confused.

' _What?_ ' Naruto thought.

"Ah come on Hinami. You're confusing me now."

Hinami let out a sigh at his words. Naruto reminded her so much of her Nii-san, but at the same time he was so different. She wondered how the two would have gotten along if they met each other.

Naruto looked at Hinami. It was obvious to him that she was reminiscing something.

"Hey, Hinami" Naruto started in a warm yet worried tone, "You ok?"

Drops could be heard hitting the floor. Tracing it's source he realized that it was Hinami. She was crying. Placing his hand on the girls shoulder, it caused Hinami to look at him. Brown eyes held a look of sadness as they looked at his one cerulean blue eye. However instead of pitying her Naruto gave her a reassuring smile. Hinami's eyes widened at that and she immediately hugged him as she cried on his shoulder.

Not knowing what to do Naruto patted her back with his one arm.

"I miss him… I miss him so much" Hinami spoke in between sobs.

"It's ok Hinami. I'm sure that person has you in their hearts." Naruto spoke warmly.

The girl gave the blond a confused look. Her tears had turned into sniffles. Placing his hand on her head a smile graced Naruto's lips. With eyes filled with warmth Naruto spoke, "Just keep thinking of him, and eventually he'll come back."

Hinami's eyes widened at that. She was about to speak but-

"Hinami… I think you should go to your room." Touka's voice cut through the silence of the room. The entire time she was watching Hinami and Naruto as the younger of the two thought the older one. It was clear to her she got a bit emotional with the thought of Kaneki.

Hinami nodded as she used the sleeve of her shirt to wipe away a few tears. Naruto's eye held a look of empathy. He knew better than anyone how much it hurts to lose someone. An image of his parents, Jiraiya, and Neji flashed through his mind.

Gaining a sorrow look on his face he looked at the table and closed his eyes. Not even a full day has gone by, and he already made someone cry.

' _Nice going Baka'_

Letting out a sigh he turned to his right, and realized that Touka took a seat next to him. It seemed Hinami went to her room that was the floor above the cafe. There was a silence between the two.

"You remind her of someone" Touka spoke somberly. Hearing this Naruto turned to her. "You actually remind all of us of someone." She spoke as her hair covered her eyes. Naruto didn't need to hear anymore.

"I'm sorry" he spoke downcast, "I'm sure whoever they are, they're holding all of you in their hearts. Whether they know it or not."

Once again there was a silence between them.

"You know… Hinami's thinking of leaving us to find him."

"You should let her." Naruto spoke. This had caused Touka's eyes to widen. "The short time i've been here I can tell that you try to hide Hinami from the pain of this world. I already know that all of you have been through a lot, and you all use that pain to get through the day. To protect the ones you love, and to make sure that they never have to go through anymore pain. But… someone once told me, 'Sometimes you must hurt in order to know, fall in order to grow, lose in order to gain, because life's greatest lessons are learned through pain'. When he told me that I wanted to punch him straight in the gut, but… but after witnessing the horror that the world truly i... i've grown as a person. It only made my desire to protect my friends and follow my nindo, to grow only more. So… in my opinion you should let her do what her heart wants. She's strong, so you don't have to worry about losing her."

His words hit close to home as tears started to build up in Touka's eyes. Part of his words were true, but the other part of her didn't want to let Hinami go. How could she. Hinami was one of the few things she had left in the world. On one hand she can let Hinami grow from experience, or on the other she can nurture her and hide her from the world like she had been doing. Wiping away her tears she excused herself before making her way upstairs. She was going to talk with Hinami.

"Good job you baka. Now you've made two people cry in less than five minutes." he mumbled to himself before looking at the ceiling, "I wonder what you'd do if you were here?" He thought out loud as images of his sensei appeared. It seemed as if the toad sage was sitting next to him, and had a wide smile on. The image of his master ruffled his hair before disappearing as if the wind blew him away. They were indoors. How the hell is there wind? Letting out a sigh Naruto stared at the table.

' _Now what do I do?_ '

 **With Touka**

The purple haired girl stood outside Hinami's room. She was facing the door with a worried expression. Preparing herself she knocked on the door.

 _ **Knock knock**_

She didn't get a response. Putting her hand up again she was going to knock, but stopped herself as the door opened. Looking down she saw Hinami's red face. Her eyes were puffy, and her cheeks were red. A frown appeared on her face when she saw her like this.

Hinami went back to her bed. Her body hitting her head as she buried her face into her pillow. Touka seeing this lightly closed the door, and made her way towards Hinami's bed. Sitting down she couldn't help but have a feeling of dread. There was a moment of silence as Touka observed Hinami's room at the cafe. It was blank. Nothing that stood out except a bed.

After the Owl Suppression Operation their whole life seemed to be crumbling down on them. Tsukiyama was bedridden from something, Hinami wants to leave them, and they lost people… people she swore to get back.

Closing her eyes she prepared herself for what was to come.

"Hinami…" he voice held a dejected tone. She had come to a decision on her little sister's future. The young girl immediately turned to face her.

"Do… do you still want to join Aogiri?"

Hinami stared at her older sister. Trying to figure out her motives, but finding none, Hinami gave her a nod.

A lone tear fell from Touka's eyes.

"Just… just be careful ok?" She told her worryingly.

Brown eyes widened at Touka's words. Hinami couldn't help herself but hug her older surrogate sister. Touka returned the hug twice fold, and couldn't stop the tears from falling. They stayed like that for a while. Both feeling the warmth coming from the other. They knew it would be the last time for a while before they saw each other again.

Letting go of the embrace Touka looked at the young woman in front of her. She was so proud of Hinami that she couldn't even tell her how much she was. Using her thumb to wipe away a tear on Hinami's cheek, Touka gave her a small smile.

"Let's pack your things" Touka spoke softly.

Hinami noded and let out a small 'Hai'.

 **A Couple Hours Later**

Naruto was bored out of his mind. He had nothing to do- well he was lying. He could be reading the book Touka gave him, but he was never one who could learn by himself. His academy record was more than enough to prove that.

The noise of two pairs of footsteps coming down the stairs caught his attention. Down came Touka and Hinami who looked as if they were going out. Hinami was carrying a bag.

"Huh? Where you guys going?" Naruto asked curiously.

Both of the girls turned to face him.

"She's growing up." Touka replied softly.

Naruto's eyes widened at that. His shock expression turned into a soft smile before he got off of his chair. Scratching the back of his head, Naruto gave them a foxy smile. "Can I come too? I don't really have that much to do here, since…. you know." He asked sheepishly.

Touka gave the blond a stern look before shaking her head. Frowning at her actions Naruto's eye lost a bit of their gleam.

"Aw come on please! I promise I won't get into any trouble, and i'll do anything you ask! I promise!" He pleaded.

Letting out a sigh, Touka gave Hinami a side glance. The younger ghoul feeling Touka's gaze on her turned to her older sister. Understanding the look, Hinami gave Touka a nod. Once again the older ghoul let out a tired sigh before speaking, "You must do exactly as I say without question. I don't care what happens, but you listen to me, got it?"

At her words Naruto furiously nodded.

"Come on" Touka spoke tiredly.

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered.

The two ghouls smiled at the blond's excitement. However it was only Touka's whose was replaced by a frown when they realized where exactly they were going. Hinami had already contacted the person who had been trying to recruit her after the Owl Suppression Operation. That of course being Takatsuki Sen. They were supposed to be meeting at an abandoned subway station located in the 9th ward. It would mean they wouldn't be back at the cafe for a couple hours, since the 9th ward wasn't relatively close to the 13th ward that they resided in.

 **9th Ward - Sometime Later**

They had pulled up next to what appeared to lead into an abandoned subway system. Of course to Naruto it just looked like a long tube going underground, but from what he skimmed through the book he could have sworn he's seen it before.

' _Subpay? Sublay? Or was it… Subway! Aha! Uzumaki Naruto strikes once again Dattebayo! Take that stupid book!'_ Naruto thought as they descend into the darkness. Just like when he snuck through their house, Naruto's eye quickly adjusted to the darkness.

Once they made it down the stairs Naruto followed Touka. He had no idea where in the world they were going, but if worst comes to worst he was going to protect the two of them. Even though he wasn't fully recovered, he could still surprise them and by some time. They eventually went down another set of stairs, this time it led to a dimly lit room. It was fairly large and had graffiti all over it's walls. There was a single light that kept flickering on and off, which gave the room an ominous feeling.

' _Please tell there aren't any ghosts in here'_ Naruto begged in his mind. If there was one thing that Naruto was deathly afraid of… it was ghosts. He could proudly say that he would rather fight Madara all over again, than have an encounter with a ghost. He shuttered just thinking about it.

Touka saw the shuttered, "Naruto, if you're scared than you can go wait in the car. This shouldn't take long." Touka spoke sincerely. She didn't want the blond to feel uncomfortable.

Naruto hearing this regained his nerves. Scratching the back of his head he felt quite embarrassed at what he was going to say, "Aha… it's not that…. It's just…."

The three stopped moving. The two ghouls gave Naruto a curious look.

"It's just… uh…. There aren't any ghosts here?... right?" he asked hopefully.

Touka's and Hinami's eyes immediately fell from his words. The way he was stuttering made it seem like he had something important to say.

 _ **Smack**_

"Ow, ow, ow. What was that for Touka?" Naruto asked hurtfully.

Touka gave him a serious look which caused the blond to shrivel up. ' _I guess I deserved that. This is the last time she's going to see Hinami-chan, for kami knows how long, and i'm only adding onto her worry. Baka. Of course there's no ghosts here. Or are there….' Naruto thought._

Taking in the surroundings once more, Naruto couldn't help but notice the two giants circular openings. If he remembered correctly, not just from the book but from experience, trains would stop here, and than leave through one of those holes to who knows where. Honestly, the last time and first time he saw a train, it was trying to run him over.

Making their way onto the railway the group of three made there way into one of the dark tunnels. The second Naruto's foot hit the darkness his shinobi senses kicked in. Jumping back Naruto looked back at the place he was previously standing. In its place were spike-like crystals. That's when he sensed it. His eyes widened when he realized that they were surrounded. Looking at Touka and Hinami they seemed to be looking at something. Touka had a slight scowl on her face while Hinami had a neutral expression. Looking at where their eyes were Naruto saw a pair of red irises. Out of the darkness came out a lean teen who seemed to be one or two years younger than him. He had blue messy hair which swept down in front of his eyes. The teen had a rough looking face, and clothing that made him think of an emo Sasuke in this world. Although what surprised him the most of the striking resemblance he had to Touka.

"Eh! Touka I didn't know you had a son! You look so young yet… wait do ghouls still have their youth even when they get older?" Naruto spoke innocently.

The teen seemed to growl at his words, but it didn't faze Naruto. However he shut up as soon as Touka gave _the look_. He had seen that look many times. How couldn't he? Of course when he did receive the look he would keep talking, which would always wind up with him getting punched through something. Be it Sakura or Baa-chan. However now wasn't the place or time. He had promised Touka he would follow her instructions, and he wasn't one to break his promises.

Things seemed to quiet down after that. That was until hooded figures started making their presences known. At this point Naruto was nervous. From what he could sense there were at least twenty or more of them. If things got out of hand, he wasn't sure if he could protect the three of them. After all he hadn't exactly trained to fight with one arm, and his chakra was still recovering.

"Touka… " the blue haired teen spoke as if there was tension between them.

"Ayato... "Touka responded with the same tone.

Once again there was a silence between them all. It was if red eyes were meeting purple in a stare down against wills. To Naruto there was obviously something going on between the two. Eventually the blue haired ghoul turned to Naruto before he observed him. It didn't seem that he was impressed when he saw the blond.

"Who's the blond?" he spoke uncaringly.

"He's new. That's all you need to know." Touka responded with a hint of coldness. It made it clear to Ayato that he shouldn't threaten him, or else he would have to deal with her. Not like he cared.

"He smells weird"

"I told you that he's new, and that's all you need to know Ayato." Touka spoke warningly.

However Ayato ignored her. He was focused on the blond before him. The blond didn't smell like a ghoul, but instead that of a human. At the same time he didn't exactly smell like a human… a one eyed ghoul? It would explain the fact that he has his left eye covered, but what about his arm?

"What's your name." Ayato spoke passively to the blond.

Naruto turned to Touka for confirmation. Seeing her nod he faced back Ayato before answering, "Uzumaki Naruto."

"And what exactly are you _Uzumaki Naruto_?" He spoke his name with a hint mockery.

Smiling at the man, Naruto couldn't help but let his prankish side come out a little. "One of a kind." he replied innocently.

The answer seemed to slightly annoy Ayato. He was going to further question the blond, but was stopped.

"You're here to take Hinami. Not interrogate one of my employes." Touka spoke out coldy.

Hearing this Ayato turned his attention towards his sister.

"Oh? You're still going into the coffee business. I thought you would have learned after Anteiku."

His words seemed to aggravate Touka. Before she could speak she was cut off as Hinami walked towards Ayato. Stopping next to him while still facing the darkness of the tunnel she spoke, "Can we just go."

There was a silence after those words were spoken.

"Yeah…" Ayato spoke as he had his eyes on Touka's, "Just one more question. He isn't the replacement for Kaneki is he? Have you really gotten this weak that you accept random strangers now?" he spoke mockingly.

Opening her mouth, she was cut off by the slightly pissed of Naruto, "Oi! I don't know who the hell you are, but-"

"Naruto!" Touka's stern voice shut the blond up.

A chuckle was heard escaping Ayato's lips.

"I guess I have my answer. We'll be going now. Till next time sis, and try not to get into too much trouble. It's already a pain cleaning up after you."

With that the Aogiri Tree group disappeared into the tunnels with Hinami. The shinobi and ghoul stood there watching the tunnel, as if they were waiting for something to happen. However the only thing they got was the sounds of footsteps running in the distance.

Once again there was a silence in the station. Turning towards Touka he realized she had a far away look on her face. He knew that look. It was one of reminiscing the past. Although the 'who' was what Naruto wasn't sure about. Looking back at the tunnel, Naruto couldn't help but feel as if the next time he saw Hinami it would be a short reunion.

Touka was in her own thoughts. She hadn't realized it, but a lone tear made its way down her face. This always happened when she thought back to the old times. Seeing Ayato again especially triggered some bad memories. It was her fault her younger brother was the way he was, and maybe if she just did something different… than maybe… just maybe things could have ended up differently.

' _Ayato… please keep Hinami safe._ ' Touka thought.

 _ **Grumble**_

The two were brought out of their attention by the noise of Naruto's stomach. Gaining a sheepish look Naruto scratched the back of his head not able to meet eye contact with Touka. He hadn't eaten anything since he met the blue haired girl.

Touka looked at Naruto with a faint smile. No matter what the blond did, be it on purpose or on accident, it seemed he could always make the people around him smile. She was still slightly irritated by the blond from his interaction with her brother.

' _Seriously, 'one of a kind'. What a smart ass response.'_ Touka thought with a smile. If the atmosphere was different she was sure it would have brought a couple of laughs. However it wasn't. She had just let Hinami go, and no matter what the blond did he couldn't replace that feeling. A sorrow feeling of seeing your younger sibling not need you anymore.

There was nothing else to do here. Turning around Touka started making her way out of the underground station. For a while Naruto stood there watching the purplet's retreating form. Looking back into the tunnel he gained a sad smile.

' _I'll see you later Hinami'_

Turning around Naruto jumped onto the station platform; before jogging to catch up to Touka. Just like they entered, they stayed in silence. Only this time with one less person.

* * *

 **Yeah so like I said this chapter is shorter than the others, and now that it's out I can tell you why. I thought that it was a good place to stop, and since it's shorter I released it earlier. However now i'm gonna make the next chapter longer, and than after that hopefully I can keep at it at a decent pace. Now you gotta wait until not the next monday, but the following one. Well anyway i'm getting sidetracked here. Thank you all so much for the reviews! You guy's actually don't know how much it means to look at the reviews, expecting feedback and such, but instead getting nothing but positivity. I have to thank you guys for that, and I hope I can keep delivering! One thing I noticed was that people were a bit upset that I nerfed Naruto, but i'm sorry about that. I truly am. Trust me I love reading OP Naruto fics as much as the next guy, but I wanted to make my story where we can watch Naruto grow; instead of annihilating everything in his way. Once again sorry about that, but hopefully you can find another fic to satisfy your brain.** **Also someone was confused if this is a paring or harem. It's a pairing.** **Now, i'm not sure if you guys actually check you pm box, but when I gather the courage I actually send some of you guys messages based on your review. Once again than you guys so much! Thanks for reading! Till next time!**


	4. Mask's and Revelations

' _Tonkotsu ramen… miso ramen… or shoyu ramen. Damn it, this is such a hard choice'_ Was the thought of one Uzumaki Naruto.

He was currently in the exact same ramen shop that he was in yesterday. After Touka and him left the drop off with Aogiri Tree, they had gone back home in silence and hadn't talked since. He was going to talk with her, but was reassured by Yomo that it wasn't his fault, and that she still hadn't fully accepted Hinami's departure. That didn't stop the blond from trying to cheer her up. He had only tried once, and it wasn't a complete failure to say the least. Looking back on it, it was hilarious.

 _Flashback to early morning_

 _Naruto had just finished setting everything up. It was early morning, and everyone was already in the re: cafe except for one person._

 _Nishiki._

 _Naruto didn't know why but there was something that made his younger, more devilish side come out whenever he saw Nishiki. Maybe it was the funny expression he made when he saw his clone. Anyways he had just finished his newest prank. It was similar to when he painted his entire classroom in orange, but this time it was aimed at one person specifically. That person being one Nishio Nishiki. No one had seen what he was doing, but he was sure it would bring some joy to the ghouls. Except one that is. He just prayed that no one else came through the front door._

 _You may be wondering how he had come into the possession of orange powder, rope, and a bag. For the blond to be honest, he found it all laying around in the back. In fact, when he saw everything he came up with the idea instantly. Now all he had to do was wait for the chestnut haired bimbo to arrive._

 _Yomo and Touka were doing their daily routines. Touka seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, since she would always gaze off into space seemingly looking at nothing. He could see regret in her eyes, but on what he wouldn't know. Possibly letting Hinami leave._

 _That's when it happened. A single jingle of a bell, which indicated the door being opened. It's all Naruto needed to turn to face the door. Time seemed to slow down for everyone. Nishiki was opening his mouth to announce his presence. The rope was moving like a snake, preparing to drop it's contents. In an instant two small bags fell on top of Nishiki. An explosion of orange went off. It covered everything in its path, and that included Nishiki as well._

 _The explosion caused both, Yomo and Touka's eyes to widen. They were going to see what was wrong, but their attention was caught by the blond who seemed to be dying in laughter. Naruto had his one arm over his ribs, and a tear could be seen welling up in his eye._

 _Nishiki however, was far beyond mad. No, he was far beyond furious. A purple aura could be seen dancing around Nishiki's orange form. The blond was going to pay._

" _WHAT THE HELL!" Nishiki roared out in pure and utter rage._

 _It seemed to do nothing as Naruto was still laughing. In fact it seemed to only increase Naruto's laughter._

" _Hey! I'm talking to you whiskers!"_

 _That did it. The remark seemed to stop Naruto's laughter, and in exchange an equally mad expression formed on his face._

" _Oi! Who the hell you calling whiskers?!"_

" _Who do you think… whiskers?"_

" _That does it! No one calls me whiskers and gets away with it, Dattebayo!" Naruto yelled as he lunged at Nishiki._

 _While the two were scuffiling on the floor, Touka couldn't help but let out a small smile. That small smile quickly turned into a chuckle as she witnessed Nishiki and Naruto attempt to pound the living daylights out of each other. They were both rolling around the floor while crude remarks such as 'kitty' or 'Horse face' could be heard from the two. It was funny and all, but there was only one tensy tiny problem she had with this._

" _Stop dirtying my floor you idiots! Or else you'll also have to clean red!" Touka yelled at the two._

 _Flashback End_

Afterwards, they cleaned up the mess, while every now and then glaring at each other, and throwing the usual insult or two. To say Naruto was scared for his life was an understatement. He saw the fear in Nishiki's eyes as well, and his survival intuition kicked in. That survival intuition being to never piss of a female. He had been at the end of a females anger more times than he could count, and if there's one thing he learned was that it didn't matter who the female was. They would beat you to a pulp if you got them mad beyond a certain point. Naruto wasn't ready to go to that other side yet, and it was clear to him Nishiki wasn't either. Memories of Jiraiya brought a small smile to his face. He wouldn't feel the one lone tear making its way down his cheek as he thought back on his late sensei.

Once they finished cleaning Yomo had given him some money to get food, and that's how he wounded up here. He only had enough for what seemed to be two maybe three bowl of ramen. Now he was debating if he should get the same flavor, or mix it up a little.

"Say Blondy, Saiko wouldn't have come back if you were going to be all doom and gloom" A voice he was familiar with cut him out of his thoughts. Looking up he was met face to face with the same blue haired girl from yesterday. However, this time she was smiling.

"Huh?" was the blonds confused reply.

The girl seemed to let out a small chuckle at that. Honestly females confused him. One second they were all happy, and the next he was being punched through the wall.

"So what brings you here…. Uh?"

"Saiko, Yonebayashi Saiko" the girl responded.

"Huh, that's a pretty cool name. The 'most greatest child'. That's awesome Saiko!"

Hearing the compliment, Saiko couldn't help but smile and hide a small evident blush. No one had ever complimented her, let alone call her awesome.

"Oh! By the way i'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto!" the blond spoke cheerfully, while doing a small salute.

Saiko couldn't help but laugh at his introduction. Let alone his name.

"Your parents…. Called you…. Fishcake?" she spoke in between laughs.

Naruto's face changed from one of joy to an annoyed expression. His eyebrow was twitching and a tick mark was evident.

"Damn it! Why does everyone think that! It's for maelstrom, and that's ten times cooler than fishcake. No! It's an infinite times cooler than fishcake!" He tried to defend himself, but it only seemed to serve to cause the bluete to laugh even harder.

"What… whatever you say fishcake."

As she finally calmed down there was a small silence between them.

"Soooooo… what brings you back here? I see you're not all upset and all from yesterday." Naruto asked curiously.

Looking at the blond her smile turned into a very small frown.

"I thought I could repay you for helping me out."

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about that. A smile on your pretty face is more than enough payment." he told her with a bright smile.

Hearing that Saiko's eyes slightly widened as she professed his words. Realizing what he called her she hid inside her jacket, so he wouldn't see her blush.

"Saiko, you ok?" The blond spoke oblivious to why she might be in that state.

"I-it's nothing." the girl sputtered out.

Naruto just nodded at that. He never understood girls.

"Do you mind if I can ask you something?"

"Shoot" Saiko spoke finally getting her head out of her jacket.

"What had you down?" seeing the saddened look on her face he added, "Sorry for asking it's just… i don't know I get really attached to people in a short amount of time, and I can't help but already feel like we're friends."

Instead of storming off, or staying silent, like he thought she would. He was surprised to when she waved of his worry, and held a faint smile.

"It's just a job offer I got. My mom has been pressuring me to take it and I did. Your words yesterday also helped a lot, and well I go into surgery in about two weeks."

"Surgery?" Naruto asked confused. What type of job required someone to go through a surgery?

Widening her eyes at her slip up. She stayed silent while trying to not look at the teen across from her. She was on contract to not tell anybody about the Quinx project, until it was public information. Sweat drops could be seen forming on her forehead.

"I-it's uh… um….what were we talking about?" she asked nervously.

"I don't know." the blond replied casually.

It seemed to calm things down as Saiko looked at him with a blank expression.

' _What?'_ she thought. Had the blond really been that willing to drop the subject that fast? Looking him over she realized he went back at looking at the menu. ' _He did!'_

"Say Saiko-chan-" she grew a tint of pink on her face at the suffix, "-you want anything?" he asked giving her his menu.

"I'll just have what you ordered."

Counting his money he looked back at Saiko with a sheepish look in his eyes.

"Would you mind sharing a bowl? I only have enough for three bowls, and i'm not someone who likes having more than others." he asked while scratching the back of his head.

Feeling a bit flustered by his question, Saiko slowly nodded her head. Who was she to deny free food?

"So are you new in town or?" she asked with curiosity.

"I guess you can say that. I'm not exactly from here." Naruto responded looking into her eyes.

"Oh so you're from out of the country?" she asked with even more curiosity. The blond truly fascinate her, and she couldn't help but want to get to know him more.

"Something like that."

A comfortable silence fell between the two. Both sitting in their own respective seats with a smile on their faces.

"So, would your baa-chan have really punched you through a wall?" Saiko asked a bit teasingly.

At the thought of it Naruto slouched comedically with what sounded like mumbling coming from him. "What you think she wouldn't? Trust me I have been at the end of her fists more times than I can count, and most of the times I don't even do anything!" Naruto whined.

At his statement Saiko couldn't help but laugh.

After the food came a pleasant atmosphere surrounded the two. Of course it changed drastically when they started sharing the third bowl of ramen. Naruto could have sworn he was redder than his mother, and Saiko didn't seem to be doing any better. It only seemed to make things a bit more awkward with the looks they were getting from the people in the restaurant. He even heard someone whispering how cute of a couple they were. He almost choked on his food when he heard that one.

' _It's just ramen damn it…'_

Saiko was in her own thoughts. She had realized long ago the looks they were getting, more specifically from the older people in the joint. There was no way she could look at the blond after the comments she heard. She was just grateful that he offered to share the third bowl cause she was honestly pretty hungry.

After finishing there was an awkward silence between the two. Both averting eye contact as if they looked into each others eyes/eye they would be even more embarrassed. Which was the case. Calming down a little Naruto couldn't help but want to break the silence.

Looking at the girl, she was still in the same state as he last glanced at her. The feeling from the first time they met each other surfaced. Just what exactly was this? It was warm, and…. There was just something else he couldn't figure out. It was on the tip of his tongue, but no matter what he couldn't find his answer.

' _I should probably say something'_ he thought wanting to clear the atmosphere.

Saiko, slightly turning to the blond realized where his gaze was fixated on. It was on _her._ She didn't know why but it caused her to become a bit flustered. No one had ever payed her much attention, especially someone her age. This was honestly getting kind of awkward.

' _Saiko should probably say something'_ she thought unknowingly thinking exactly what the blond was.

"Do you like manga?-" -"What's your favorite flavor of ramen?" They both spoke, interrupting the other.

It seemed to slightly clear the tension as they both looked at each other with a confused expression. Blinking a couple of times they couldn't help but laugh.

"I-i'm sorry you go first" Naruto spoke.

Looking at the blond she gained a faint smile, "No, no, you go" she insisted.

He didn't seem to accept it if his patient look was anything to go by. He was leaning his head against his hand, and had a smile on his face.

"Do you like manga?" she asked a bit hopefully. She didn't have a lot of friends who liked her hobbies, but than again she didn't have a lot of friends in general.

"Manga?" Naruto asked confused.

It seemed to rile the short girl a bit.

"WHAT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT MANGA IS?" She yelled in an over exaggerated tone.

Naruto had to suppress a sweat drop at this,' _You know she could have done that differently'_

"Sorry?"

"No, no! How do you not know what it is! _Everyone's_ at least heard of it!" she spoke as she wailed her arms around.

Letting out a awkward chuckle and scratching the back of his head Naruto spoke, "Sorry, it's just I grew up in a village. We don't even have more than half the things people have here."

His answer seemed to calm her down as her mouth was in an 'o' shape.

"Well, let me tell you. Next time Saiko see's you, she's showing you the world of an otaku!" she yelled in excitement.

Naruto smiled at this. It seemed he made a friend, and a fun one at that.

The two continued talking as if they knew each other their whole lives. Smiles evident on their faces the entire time. Both laughing at each others dismay, and their stories. Eventually they didn't even notice, but they were already outside the store, after eating their ramen.

"Wait, wait, wait. So, you painted your entire classroom orange? And no one caught you?"

"Yeah, and I would have done way more, but Iruka-sensei caught me before I could. You should have seen the look on their faces!"

At his words the two just laughed even more.

"Oh man… I gotta see you do this one day." she wheezed out.

Hearing this Naruto's gained his usual mischievous foxy grin whenever he was up to something. It seemed he possibly found a partner in crime. Of course that didn't mean she was safe from his pranks. Oh no far from it. If he saw more of Saiko he was sure the two of them would no doubt try to get a hand over the other at any moment of chance. That would be awesome, but he was getting to far ahead of himself.

"Well i'll see you later Naru!" The blue haired girl waved off happily with a bright smile.

Using his one eye to smile like his sensei had. Naruto couldn't help but shout happily his farewell to the girl, "I'll see you later Sai-chan!"

The two made eye contact one more time. What felt like hours was actually a mere second in the real world. They couldn't help but marwell the brightness of the others blue eyes or eye. Once again smiling to each other they both turned around, going their separate ways. Both with the same thought going on in their heads.

' _Can't wait to see her/him again'_

 **Re:**

Our favorite blond could be hear whistling a tune inside the cafe as he looked over the map of Tokyo. Currently he was studying up on the map of Tokyo. It never hurt to know routes, and such for a quick getaway. Tunnels to run into incase he needed a place to hide. Not only that but he was getting the idea in what wards he should and shouldn't be in. Of course he always had a question or two that needed to be answered, and that's why Yomo was there. The older man seemed to be cleaning the dust of the cups and plates.

It was funny seeing such an intimidating man wearing an apron, while he cleaned the dishes. Than it hit him. He was going to have to wear an apron while serving those _dishes_.

' _Wait how the hell am I supposed to do anything around her if I don't know how to do anything at all?'_

Letting out a small groan at the thought of having to learn even more.

"Say Yomo" the blond called out to the large man, "What the hell am I supposed to do anyway when I work?" he asked bluntly.

His question seemed to put the man in thought.

"Oh yeah…" the man responded in realization, "Well why don't I show you the ropes. Than afterwards Nishiki is going to take you to meet one of our friends."

"He's not gonna eat me is he?" The blond asked a bit worried.

Yomo however didn't respond.

An hour or two passed by as Yomo was showing Naruto the basics. How to greet customers, how to see if someone is ready to order, and the most difficult one of all… how to hold a tray and serve customers with his one arm. Don't get him wrong it took some time to get the proper stature, and everything else Yomo talked about which he probably should have listened to. But, due to only having one arm it took to much time. He had to set the plate down on the table, than hand everything individually to the customer, and than finally go around handing everything else. The writing part was even more horrendous. His handwriting as Yomo put it, ' _Looks like a toddler scribbled all over the paper.'_

Now here he was sitting, trying to improve his handwriting to no avail.

"AHHHHHH!" Yelling in frustration the blond threw the pencil at the door, and at that moment… Nishiki came in.

"Oi! What the hell whiskers!" Nishiki yelled in rage while glaring at the blond.

"What the hell did I say about calling me whiskers! You Horse Face!" the blond yelled with the same fire evident in his voice. The two bumped heads where they started to growl at the other.

 _ **THWACK**_

In a heartbeat the two boys were on the ground with bumps on their heads. Standing menacingly above them with a annoyed expression was Touka. Her eyes were closed, and she was obviously trying to calm herself down from beating the two even more.

"W-why… Touka?" the blond barely being able to speak through the pain.

"Naruto! Nishiki! Go to where you're supposed to be!"

Getting up by his knee Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a confused look.

"Aren't _I_ supposed to be here?" he asked confused.

The sharp glare the older girl gave him was all he needed to shut up. Like he mentioned before… not crossing that line. He was about to get up, but felt a strong pull, pull him up from his crouching position. Looking back he realized it was Nishiki with a not so pleasant look on his face.

"Come on Naruto. We're going to visit a friend. Think of it as the first step in fitting into a ghouls world." He spoke with the same nonchalant tone.

Nodding at his words the blond followed him out the shop.

"You think he's gonna get scared?" Yomo asked out loud.

Turning to the man Touka couldn't help but nod her head.

"For sure."

 **4th Ward**

The shinobi and the ghoul were standing outside a wooden door. There were two barrels decorated with art, and a sun graffiti onto the wall. Over the sun the text ' _HySy ArtMask Studio'_ could be read.

"Masks?" Naruto questioned out loud while staring at the building.

"It's just a precaution in case you ever do something stupid, which I can already tell will be quite a lot" Nishiki replied calmly as he opened the door, ignore the loud 'oi' he received from his comment.

Inside the shop the scenery changed quite fast in Naruto's opinion. The floor was checkered, and all over the room there were glass showcases with various items in them. Most of it being either masks or other sorts of artwork. In the corner there was a skeleton with a gas mask on which caused a nervous sweat drop to appear on Naruto's forehead.

' _I hope that's not real'_

As he was looking around the shop there was one thing that caught his attention. Next to one of the showcases their was something covered with a sheet. Looking over it, he couldn't help but want to unravel its mysteries.

"Hey Nishiki! You think your friend will mind if I take a peek what's under here?" The blond asked with a point towards the object of interests.

Turning to Naruto with a bored expression he spoke, "Knock yourself out."

Grabbing the bottom of the sheet, Naruto slowly pulled it up. Eventually he was met face to face with a man sitting on the pedestal. Black and red met lone blue as they looked at each other with confusion. Blinking a few times, Naruto was slightly surprised to see a man sitting there.

"Boo"

However unlike Kaneki Naruto stood there still looking at the man unsurly.

"What?" Naruto asked even more confused.

There was an awkward silence as the two just kept staring at each other. Well there was for Naruto's part, but the man seemed to be perfectly contempt with staying like this.

"Uta come on. Stop playing around." Nishiki spoke with a bit of annoyance. He wasn't annoyed by the two, but more over the fact that he was on babysitting duty.

"I thought I would surprise you. It worked on Kaneki." the now named Uta spoke with a bit of amusement.

"Well that's because Kaneki was a wimp"

His words seemed to intrigue the man even more.

"Oh? Are you saying there's something special about the blond?" he asked while poking the whiskered teen.

Memories of what Naruto did to him flashed in that moment.

"No… he's an annoying whiskered cat, who doesn't understand how to show respect to his superiors."

As if on cue to prove his point Naruto yelled out with white eyes,"Oi! Who the hell are you calling a cat, horse face! I'll beat the crap out of you, Dattebayo!"

"See what I mean?" Nishiki asked while looking back at Uta.

The artist nodded at his words. It was clear to him that he was way different from Kaneki, but there was something about him that seemed off. Smelling the blond, which caused Naruto to look a bit petrified. He found the reason for his bewilderment.

"Is he a one eye?" he asked curiously.

Nishiki shook his head in response.

"He's not even a ghoul, but he's a special case."

"How so?" He was interested now. A human who doesn't smell like a human, and somehow landed himself in a ghoul society.

Nishiki looked at Naruto for confirmation. The blond seeing this looked back at Uta before looking back at Nishiki. Could he trust this guy? I mean he seemed friendly, but there was something off about him. I guess he would just have to keep it a secret until it was the time to tell him.

Nishiki seeing the look in Naruto's eye turned back to Uta, "You'll find out."

"Oh that's such a tease Nishiki."

Gaining a smirk Nishiki spoke, "What can I say…. It's a _surprise_."

The man seemed to gain a small smile at that.

"Well come on than" the man said as he led Naruto to his little work place which was in the middle of the room. Uta went to his desk before grabbing a clipboard with paper attached onto it.

He then proceeded to ask Naruto a series of questions while scribbling on the paper.

"Do you have any allergies?"

"No"

"You want a full face or half"

"Uh.."

"I'll go with full" Uta spoke not caring for the blonds reply.

' _Than why'd he ask?'_ Naruto thought with a sweatdrop.

"You want to keep your whiskers on your mask?"

The question seemed to irritate Naruto. His head was red with anger and his eye was twitching.

"They're not whiskers… "

"I'll take that as a yes."

Naruto seemed to deflate at his words.

"Well I got a sort of idea. Say Naruto was it?"

Nodding at his words the man continued.

"Do you purr?"

There was a silence as the two just stared at each other. Naruto's face was blank of any emotion with a look of, ' _You're kidding right?'_ , while Uta kept his normal face on.

Letting out a sigh Naruto spoke, "No, I don't purr."

"Are you sure? Has anyone ever scratched your cheek?"

"I DON'T PURR DAMNIT!" Naruto yelled in rage.

However instead of any other reaction, Uta just kept doing his measurements on Naruto. Still keeping up his normal face, "I'll take that as a no."

"Say Naruto do you know why us ghouls have masks?" Uta asked.

"Huh? I actually have no idea." The blond responded with some interest evident in his voice. He had wanted to ask one of them why he needed a mask, but decided to give up on it after Nishiki basically ignored him the whole way here.

"It's so we can blend in with human society,-" Naruto's eyes instantly shot up., "-we need a mask that we never take off. If we're suspected for even a moment, we're done for, so we conduct ourselves seamlessly enough that we don't become too involved."

A tear drop hit the floor. Seeing this confused Uta. However that confusion was cleared when he saw the trail the tear left behind. It had came from Naruto.

"I know exactly how it feels to wear a mask your whole life." Naruto spoke low but he could be heard by the two, "It's hard for people who are seen as monsters I know that, so we put up a facade so we don't get hurt anymore by others. Instead we start hurting ourselves for companionship."

Silence. Each individual had their own thoughts. Uta seemed to understand the blond, and decided not to pry any further. Naruto was reminscating his past. Images of a lonely boy crying by himself, with a shadow of nine tails moving behind him. Another memory of him with old man Hokage. They were in his new apartment, after he was kicked out the orphanage, and forced to live on the streets for three months. Four words was all it took to break the old man's heart. Now that he was older he could see all the pain and regret in the third's eyes.

 _Where are my parents?_

He was so happy that he achieved his goal. His goal to receive the recognition of the villagers, and he couldn't be any happier. After all he was the sun in the darkness. The boy of miracles or the child of prophecy as he was called. His frown turned into a sad smile at those memories.

Nishiki was trying to find out what Naruto meant. Just what did the happy carefree blond go through? However his slight worry towards him were cleared at Naruto's next words.

"Although sometimes it's better to break that mask, and show people who you really are. After that you can see who your real family is." A sad smile was evident on his face. The warmth in his eye returning.

"That's true in some cases, but that's tough for us ghouls in this world."

"Than i'll change it." Naruto spoke determined.

"What?" both of them asked.

"I'll change it. That's a promise and if there's one thing I never go back on are my promises, dattebayo!"

The two ghouls just stood there wondering if Naruto was insane. However Nishiki gained a faint smile at his words.

"Come on Naruto, don't go around saying stuff like that."

"Uh huh. To late."

A silence fell upon them. Uta was almost finished taking Naruto's measurements, and Nishiki was just staring at the blond. He was thinking over his words. ' _I'll change it'_ Such determination and conviction. It was if the blond was stating a fact. Most of Nishiki just wanted to say it was Naruto's subconscious or whatever speaking, but… he couldn't help but wonder what if he could.

' _Oh get a hold of yourself Nishiki. There's no way a kid who looks like a fox can do that.'_

Finishing his measurements, Uta patted the blond on the head.

"Well that's everything." he spoke as his hand made its way towards Naruto's cheeks.

Standing up from his chair he noticed where Uta's hand was. They looked at each other before coming to a silent agreement to not talk about it.

"Naruto… "Nishiki spoke getting his attention, "Go outside. I'll be out in a bit."

Nodding at his words he gave Uta a wave with a smile, which he returned with one of his own. Hearing the door close Nishiki's faced Uta.

"You know when you said he was special, I didn't think he was that special."

"Can we trust you not to tell anyone that he's human?" His usual bored voice asked, but if one listened closely they could tell that it held power.

"Of course" Uta told him while nodding. Turning around Uta made his way towards his desk, but left behind some last words, "Try not to get him killed. After all I want to see what the kid does."

 **The Next Day**

A blue eye slowly opened itself to the rays of the sun before closing tightly. His sunny blond hair spiking all over the place.

' _The sun is evil'_ he thought as he got up. Rubbing his one eye with his hand before looking at the clock.

It was already two in the afternoon. Grumbling about his dismay he was sure Yomo was going to give him that look. He was supposed to be 'intraining' as they called it. Seriously, who wakes up at eight to train to be a waiter.

Preparing himself for the consequences to come, out favorite blond hero got out of bed. Making his way downstairs he was surprised to see no one was there. The front doors were locked, and nothing seemed to be touched since yesterday.

' _Weird. Maybe they're still asleep'_ he thought. Hopefully his assumption was true, and he wouldn't have to deal with anything this early. Well it wasn't early but it was for him. He just woke up for Kami's sake.

Going behind the counter he started gathering the necessary materials to make coffee. Pouring the beans into the foil Naruto moved his stump of a arm to try to grab the pot with water.

' _Oh yeah… I forgot about that problem.'_

Letting out a small sigh he couldn't help but think how difficult or annoying somethings were with one arm. Sure he could still eat, but if it involved anything with a fork or knife he was done for. How ironic, the Savior of Konoha bested by some eating utensils. That brought a smile on his face. It had a funny ring to it.

Getting back on task he grabbed the pot of water, and started pouring it onto the beans. Moving the pot in a circular motion, the beans started letting off a small drops of coffee. If anyone else was there, there mouths would water of the fresh hypnotic aroma the pot was letting off. After a while the pot was half full, where Naruto decided was enough. He had never drank coffee in his life. The first time he tasted it he wanted to spit it out due to the bitterness tasted in it. After that he had stayed as far away from the drink as he could. Deeming it the 'curse of the gods'. Right now however, he didn't care. He was thirsty and there was nothing else to drink due to the other occupants living here. Sure he could go out and get something, but would he? Nah, he was to lazy for that.

Even he had to admit the aroma it was letting off was a bit enticing. Mist wisped around the edges of the cup as he poured the brown drink in slowly. Finally after filling it near the top he put the pot down. Grabbing the cup by his finger he examined it. The coffee was letting of small ripples due to lifting it up.

A flash of memories came through his mind. Nagato more specifically. Than it went from Nagato to an image of Obito, than Madara, next was Sasuke, and finally…. Him. The **rinnegan** was another problem in general. He hadn't given the eye much thought, but now… now he had no idea what to do. The eye felt… normal to say the least. It felt as if he finally was able to put a piece of a puzzle in himself that he didn't even know he was missing. The only problem he had with the eye was accepting it. How could he after it was used to kill hundreds if not thousands of people. It had trapped his world in a gengutsu that he hoped his friends could find a way to undo. His world was something he also didn't give much thought on. He had made a promise to someone to save this world and yet… he couldn't even save his. How stupid was he. Making promises like that.

' _Honestly… i'm here playing waiter while everyone back home is suffering. Damn it! I just need to put my faith in Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei, and Sakura-can. B-but what if they don't find a way? Is the old man sage still there to help them? I-i mean he wouldn't just abandoned them like that would he?"_

With every thought his grip got tighter and tighter. His hand started shaking with rage or hopelessness we wouldn't know. Finally, the cup broke. It's shattered pieces cutting into his hand, while the melting coffee slightly burned it. However instead of reacting to it he stood there. Lost in his thoughts, as he tried to find an outcome where his world could be saved without him. Silently praying that he didn't leave his world to die.

"Naruto?" a voice spoke cutting him out of his thoughts. It wasn't until he regained his bearings that he realized what he did.

"Huh? Ah shit! Touka i'm so sorry I didn't even realize what I did" he spoke frantically as he started picking up the shattered pieces with his bleeding palm.

Seeing the state of her new worker she couldn't help but feel as if he was reminiscing the past.

"Is everything alright?" she asked with what sounded like a hint of worriness.

Turning to her Naruto gained a sad smile, "Yeah everything's all right… I was just thinking.

"About your world?" She asked instantly.

Time seemed to stop as she said that. Naruto's hair covered his eye, and Touka stood there waiting for him.

"Yeah… " he spoke out meekly.

Hearing this she immediately went to pull out two chairs. Motioning him to sit down next to her while she took a seat in her own. Getting up slowly, Naruto accepted the offer. Taking a seat the two sat there for a bit before Touka let out a small sigh.

"I was never good at these things… the last time I tried to help someone emotionally I beat him up" she spoke with a sad smile as her interaction with Kaneki passed her mind. Naruto seemed to let out a small chuckle at that. "Huh? You think i'm kidding?"

Waving his hand in a defensive manner he spoke, "No, no, it's just… it must have been nice getting close to someone like that. It also helps that I can actually picture you doing that."

At that both of them let off a small chuckle.

"I guess it's that Kaneki guy i've been hearing so much about." he spoke.

Turning her head to face the front of her she closed her eyes.

"Yeah… "

"He sounds like an amazing guy. I would love to meet him some day."

"Yeah… " she replied not knowing what to say. "You know i'm here to help you not the other way around."

He seemed to smile at that.

"You know I never was the type of person that needed help. I always wanted to help others with no regard to my own safety. Be it physical or emotional."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

There was a pause between the two.

"You know Nishiki told me what you said at Uta's shop."

Naruto seemed to raise his eyebrow at that.

"Did he now?"

Nodding at him she spoke, "Yeah, about wearing a mask and all that."

Diverting his gaze to the ceiling it seemed as if he was in thought.

"It was true you know. Everything I said."

"Even the promise you made?"

He stopped when he heard that. A distant look in his eye appeared thinking back about his home. How could he bring peace to another world if he couldn't even bring peace to his?

"Naruto… " Touka spoke realizing he was lost in space.

Regaining his bearings he steeled his nerves. He was Uzumaki Naruto! Not some wimp. He was the person that kept his promises no matter what, cause that's his nindo. Gaining a smile he turned to Touka.

"Yeah… even that."

There was a moment between the two. As one processed what the other said, and as the other waited for the other to respond.

Letting out a sigh she couldn't help but see a bit of Yoshimura in him. The blond had goals to bring peace, and that was something Yoshimura wanted as well. However, the only difference was, Yoshimura wanted to do something he could achieve. Naruto on the other hand wanted to do something that just seemed plain impossible.

Letting out a sigh she turned to him, "And how do you plan to do that?"

Her words seemed to make his smile widen slightly. Looking back at the ceiling he couldn't help but see an image of everyone who had gave their wills to him. Jiraiya, Jiji, his parents, Nagato, Obito, and so many more people.

"With the will of fire." he answered with a smile.

His words seemed to confuse Touka.

"You know… I didn't have the best of lives. I was actually basically seen as a demon in human flesh." His words seemed to intrigue Touka, "I lived in an orphanage until I was five, and that's because the caretaker decided to kick me out. For months I lived on the street before our village leader realized my predicament. He had gotten me an apartment, and I couldn't tell if things got better or worse. I was beaten to the brink of death on my birthdays, and every other day I would either be glared at, or they would simply act as if I wasn't there. They would call me 'demon' or 'demon-child' behind my backs, but no matter what I kept smiling. I had a dream to achieve, and I was going to achieve it no matter what. Eventually the loneliness turned me into a prankster, so I could force people to pay attention to me. It seemed to work, but it only worsened my reputation. At the time I didn't care. Why would I? I was gaining attention, and it brought me out of my loneliness no matter how short it was. After a while I graduated from the academy and was put on a team." His sad smile seemed to gain some light in it as a teardrop went down his cheek, "They were my first family. They accepted me when no one else would, and I couldn't thank them enough for that."

His words seemed to hit Touka a bit. Turning to her his eyes slightly widened when he saw what seemed to be a tear going down her cheek. However, she turned around where she wiped the tear away without him seeing.

"You know, I would have probably ended up like most of the insane ghouls here if it wasn't for them." he spoke solemnly as images of his friends appeared, "But… after a while I started making more and more friends. People started seeing me as Naruto instead of the 'demon fox', and I couldn't have been happier. I was making friends, and slowly the villagers were accepting me. Because I stuck to my nindo, and the will of fire is what kept me going. The will to never give up, and to keep striving for your goals no matter what. So many people trusted me with their wills, and there's no way i'm going back on them." his voice seemed to gain his care free attitude as he spoke more and more about the will of fire, " Because if I give up than people will start giving up on me! There's no way i'm going back on my word cause that's my nindo, dattebayo!"

The spark in his eye regaining its place. It seemed he had came to his decision. He was going to save both worlds no matter how much time and effort it took. He trusted Team 7 to release the **Infinite Tsukuyomi** , and now it was his job to help this world.

Touka however was at loss for words. The blond seemed ready to give up, and now all of a sudden he's declaring things like this. Letting out a sigh she couldn't help but want to believe him, but she just couldn't.

"Come on Naruto. Be more realistic here."

"I am being realistic." He spoke with a determined tone.

Looking at him she knew she wouldn't get through to him. She only knew him for a few days, but she already knew what type of person he was. An optimistic who always looks for the best in people, and has a way to attract those around him. Than his past came to her mind. She was honestly surprised, and felt a bit sad for him. How couldn't she. His words to their first actual encounter at the breakfast table all made sense now, but she couldn't help but feel like there was more. When he said there would be no more wars? Had he actually found a way for peace to prevail? What about the fourth war he spoke about? His answers seemed to only bring forth even more questions.

"You know, our previous boss thought that Kaneki could bring peace between humans and ghouls. You see he was a hybrid between the two, and instead of having two kakugan he only had one. A cross between a human and a ghoul. Our boss, Yoshimura, told him he was the bridge between the two. A person who belonged in two worlds. He was a wise man that thought all us a lot. He saved us from our darkness."

Naruto nodded at that. If he was anything to go by he sounded like old man third. Both people who want to steer the next generation on the right path.

"Sounds like a old man I knew." He spoke lightly.

Touka couldn't help but nod at his statement. They stayed in silence for a bit. Letting the information they received sink in.

"So, you were a prankster when you were younger?" Touka asked with a small smile. They had enough emotional talk for one day, but Naruto's past tore down a wall she had unknowingly made. It was if the blond was in a new light. The same light as Hinami.

"Oh you would not believe the stories I have… " he spoke excitedly. For the next few hours Touka and Naruto could be found exchanging stories. Naruto about the good times in his childhood, and Touka sat there listening to them. It wasn't until Touka told him the story about why she keeps the right side of her face covered that Naruto lost it.

Our favorite blond could be seen laughing hysterically on the floor. While our favorite coffee shop owner could be seen with a red face glaring at the blond. Out of embarrassment or out of anger, or maybe a mix of both.

"It's not funny!" Touka declared in a fit of rage.

Her words didn't seem to even have an affect on the blond.

"… I-it's just…. You-" he said pointing at her"... have a fear… of birds!" he spoke in between frantic laughs.

At his words she reddened even more.

"I almost had my eye plucked out by a bird! AFTER HELPING IT!"

Rolling around even more Naruto started hitting the floor with his fist, "T-that makes it even better!" he declared.

Before the two could proceed any more the sound of the door opening caught their attention. Yomo could be seen making his way through the door of the shop. He was wearing a leather jacket, and it was clear to the two that he was ready to go somewhere, if the sign of him not taking of his jacket was anything to go by.

That's when Touka's eyes widened before she slapped her forehead while mumbling something. It was that time of the week. That being body collection. Turning to Naruto she saw his confused expression at her gestures.

"Naruto… would you mind helping Yomo?"

Getting up from the floor he dusted himself off a bit, "Uh, with what?"

"Body collection." surprisingly it was Yomo who responded instead of Touka. Turning to the man with a bit of unease, Naruto didn't like that name. He had an image of what body collection meant, and he didn't like it.

"I know I said I would help you guys, but I can't kill innocent pe-"

"Naruto, It's nothing like that." the man spoke with his passive tone.

A look of confusion was followed up by that.

"What? You guys eat people don't you?"

Letting out a sigh Yomo couldn't help but be reminded a bit of Kaneki. The boy was the same as he was when they were first introduced to ghoul society. Both young and innocent.

"Come on" the man replied. Turning around, Yomo made his way towards his car. Waiting a bit Naruto turned to Touka before she gave him a small wave. Following in Yomo's path, he caught up to the enormous man. The two stayed in silence while they made their way to the car. Once they entered, Naruto was feeling a bit nervous They hadn't exactly told him what 'body collection' was, and if what he knew about ghouls was anything to go by it couldn't be any good. Gulping at the thought of the things he might have to do he glanced at Yomo. The man seemed to be in his 'silent mode', his head was focused on the road in front of him, and his face was perfectly still. The more and more Naruto looked at him he could have sworn the man never even blinked.

Their surroundings also started to change. From the concrete jungle he had been exploring these past few days, had changed into one that reminded him of home. Trees and mountains surrounded them with the occasional buildings or few that they passed by. He could see it now. Shinobi jumping through the trees, as they raced back to their village. It made him feel a little home sick, but they were in capable hands. Without realizing it the sun had set, and the moon started to rise. They had eventually pulled over to the side of one of the mountains they were going up.

"We're here." the stoic man spoke as he unbuckled his seat belt before exiting the car. Following the man's actions, Naruto stepped outside the vehicle. Turning to Yomo the man was rummaging through the trunk of the car. Averting his gaze to the distant mountains that lined themselves up Naruto felt at peace. There was so much more nature here. He could feel the energy dancing on his exposed skin. Taking in a deep breath of the air, Naruto let out a satisfied sigh. He didn't know why but it felt amazing being able to stay in a serene place like this.

Than he felt it. His eye widened quite profoundly as he rushed towards the edge of the cliff. There laying down the long steep was a dead body. The jolt of a hand connecting to his shoulder caused Naruto to turn around instantly. Standing there was Yomo with a understanding look on his face with a duffle bag in his other hand. Steeling his nerves Naruto slid down the slope where Yomo followed.

They stood there for a good minute staring at the carcass. Looking at Yomo he realized the man was giving a silent prayer to the dead man. It seemed to slightly calm his nerves knowing that the people who's care he was in weren't cold blooded killers. Giving his own prayer to the man, the two of them fell in a small silence.

"You know... ' Yomo started getting the blonds attention, "Us at Re: were thought to cherish human life. We only kill unless we absolutely have too." the man spoke clearing the blonds mind. It all made sense now. The reason Touka asked him to help Yomo with the body collection. It was to show him that he was in their care, and to ease his worries of them possibly betraying them.

"The old man thought you that right" Naruto asked with more of a statement than a fact. Looking at Yomo the only response he got was a nod. Letting out another tired sigh, Naruto couldn't help but want to meet the man. From what he understood their old man sounded a lot like Jiji.

Surprisingly it was Naruto who made the first move. Grabbing the bag Yomo was carrying before setting it on the ground he opened it. Finding what he was looking for he gave one last sad glance towards the body before approaching it. Steeling his nerves, Naruto proceeded to cut the body piece by piece.

Yomo could say he was actually surprised by the blonds actions. He was sure he was going to breakdown, or at least complain about having to do something like this. But no, the blond had proved him wrong once again. He seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and was handling the knife like a pro. One thing he had noticed was that his eyes seemed to harden. It was if he flipped a switch, and a new Naruto appeared. I guess that's what shinobi were trained to do. Rubbing his temples with one hand, Yomo approached the body as he put his two cents in. He wasn't going to let the blond do all the work. Who knows how taxing it was on him. It was better to hurry it up, since they also had one more thing to do.

* * *

 **And there is the extra long chapter I promised. Hopefully you guys enjoyed, and sorry for the wait. I said I was going to tell you guys why I made the last chapter shorter, and that's because I felt that it was a good place to end off. Next chapter there will be a fight scene, and I feel like I should make something clear real quick. Naruto himself is a rather powerful character, but in his normal mode or even sage mode he's not exactly god like in the Tokyo Ghoul world. Weird and strange yes, but not exactly someone where people will instantly think of a person with godly powers. I mean we've seen plenty of times in the show where Naruto gets hurt or even injured by the mere things of swords and kunai, (Like in Boruto when he gets stabbed even while Kurama's cloak is activated) so imagine how a kagune will be like. Anyway I don't want to go on a full rant, but all i'm saying is normal Naruto or sage mode Naruto (while powerfull) aren' exactly god like, and can go against a triple S rated ghoul with some difficulty. Some people may not see it that way, and if you want to tell me your views on it. I will gladly discuss my reasoning and listen to yours. Sorry for the small rant but I just had to get that off my chest. Thank you guys so much for the support. You don't know how much it means to me, and it has been a very busy week and a half for me. Hopefully I can stick to my weekly updating schedule, but i'm also going to be working on a side story of mine and see how it goes. If I don't update it on the usual monday it'll most likely be a day or two,(max three) late. Please review, and if you have any questions just PM me, and I will respond asap. Thanks for reading! Till Next time!**


	5. Small Encounters

The sound of two car doors closing simultaneously was the only thing that could be heard at the cliffs edge. Besides the chirping crickets that hid in the darkened forest.

Both of the men were in silence. Naruto seemed to be taking in what he had just done, and Yomo was leaving the blond to his thoughts. He figured that it would be better for the blond to come to his own terms with it, than someone trying to sooth him and tell him what they did was right. It was far from it. Most people would label what they did 'evil' or even 'psychotic', but for the life of a ghoul it was the closest thing to 'good' that they could get.

As the two drove through the slightly beaten road they stayed in silence. From the view of the mountain Naruto once previously had, had changed into one of trees surrounding them. If one would to look around they were in the middle of the forest, and on a abandoned path.

Eventually, fences appeared at the edges of the headlights. Stopping the car to the side and exiting. Naruto was quite surprised to see what appeared to be an abandoned facility. It had warning signs on the fence telling the stragglers who somehow wound up here to well… not enter. Other than that there wasn't much to it.

The building from the outside view didn't seem to be in perfect condition, but at the same time it didn't look like it was going to collapse any second. Putting his one hand in his jacket pocket he looked around. It was quite chilly considering they were in the middle of october. The trees were a tint of orange as the fallen leaves danced down to the wind. As if the wind was providing them a rhythm. He couldn't help but smile.

The sound of metal rattling caught his attention. Looking towards the noise he realized it was Yomo jumping over the fence. Making his way towards the fence he followed in his footsteps.

Entering the building through what seemed to be a broken window; the building immediately gave off an eerily feeling. As if it's past still haunted it. Suppressing a shudder he couldn't help but think that something bad happened here.

They walked through the building. The only thing that could be heard were the sounds and echoes of their footsteps resounding through the dark narrow hallways. Yomo took a left turn which led to some stairs that seemed to be descending into pitch darkness. Eventually they made it to a fairly large room with slightly cracked pillars that seemed to be the only thing holding the place up.

"Jeesh, could this place try not to get anymore creepier?" the blond asked out loud as he inspected the room. It was fairly empty with the occasional shelves either lying on the floor, or standing somewhere.

"Just be careful with the pillars." Yomo spoke getting a slow nod from the blond. It seemed to him, he was still thinking about something. Taking off his jacket he stared at the back of Naruto. This was a perfect way to start training.

Slightly running towards the blond, Yomo went to kick him in the back. The kick connected and it sent the unsuspecting blond skidding away.

"Ow,ow, ow! What the hell Yomo!" Naruto yelled in anger. Who the hell just kicks someone like that for no apparent reason!

The man only responded with one word before charging at him, "Training."

Naruto's eyes immediately widened before he moved his head to the side, avoiding Yomo's fist. Still on his knee, Naruto was able to unsuspectable grab Yomo's arm before throwing it to the side, where he was able to quickly deliver a clean hit to the mans face. He seemed to stumble at the force of it, and Naruto took this as a chance to strike.

Quickly making a clone, Naruto got up before delivering another punch towards the man's gut. He seemed to be ready for it, since the man let out a grunt and grabbed him by his back.

Preparing to throw him, Yomo wasn't prepared for the clone that all but flew out of nowhere and kicked his face causing him to go flying across the room.

Standing up before nodding to the clone it dispelled. Turning to the man that was getting up from the powerful kick Naruto couldn't help but think how powerful Yomo was. The man had muscle, and it clearly wasn't for show.

Yomo was in his own set of thoughts. The blond punched powerfully, and seemed to think on his feet. He seemed fast and ready to strike at a moments notice if the start was anything to go by. That kick was something else entirely.

'Than again he is a shinobi. I would have been bit disappointed if he didn't know how to fight.' Yomo thought.

Standing up he looked at the blond ahead. He seemed to be waiting for him to make a move if the tension in his muscles was anything to go by. His posture changed as well. It wasn't a the same relaxed, carefree posture he was used to seeing Naruto in. Instead it was a posture which screamed deadly and quick.

"No chakra!" Yomo told him as his voice echoed through the room.

"You didn't tell me we were training!" Naruto yelled back.

Yomo seemed to smirk at his words, "Always be prepared for anything."

It was true. Kakashi always told him to suspect the unexpected, and it seemed his words held true even here.

"You know we could have done a countdown before 'training'." Naruto told him in a deadpan.

Staring at each other one more time the two stayed in their positions. On que, as if a signal went off, the two launched towards each other.

Naruto tried to deliver a high kick towards the man only for it to be grabbed at the last second. Using his other leg, Naruto implanted it in the man's gut before jumping away with a backflip. The force causing Yomo to release Naruto.

This time it was Yomo who charged at him, not giving him anytime to rest. He threw a hook only for it to be blocked with Naruto's hand. He tried to deliver a spinning hook kick, only for Naruto to role under it. However, Naruto wasn't prepared for the left hook that followed the second he regained his bearings.

The punch landed directly on the right side of his skull, which caused him to lose focus. Not letting up, Yomo quickly delivered an uppercut to Naruto's gut. Causing Naruto to open his mouth in pain. He threw another uppercut, but this time aiming for his chin. The fist connected, but he was surprised that Naruto didn't budge. In fact it seemed he was fighting the force of his fist if the shaking in his head was anything to go by.

Using the window of opportunity, Naruto kneed Yomo in the gut. Causing the man to lose his power in his fist. Taking advantage of this, Naruto moved his head, which in return caused Yomo to lose his balance due to not being prepared for his fist to lose its place. Following up with this, Naruto got a direct hit to the side of the man's skull. Spin kicking the man again, Yomo went flying but Naruto didn't let up.

He appeared under Yomo's flying form with a kick ready to send the man flying towards the sky. It connected the his chin, and to top it all off; while Yomo was in the air, Naruto did a bolley kick. Sending the man flying towards the wall.

The man left a small hole in the wall with cracks making its way away from the impact. Standing their unsurely Naruto was somewhat afraid that he actually did some permanent damage, or worse had killed the man.

"Yomo, You ok?" the blond asked with a bit of of hesitation. Approaching the man he seemed to still be slouched over. His hair covering his face. Getting a bit closer, Naruto was about to touch the man, but the force of a fist embedding into his gut overwhelmed him. The impact winded him, but it started losing its effects as he stood there. Coughing a bit he looked at Yomo who seemed to be in the same position. That was until the fist was replaced by a knee, which was followed up by a by a hard punch that sent him skidding away.

"Oi! I go to check on you, and this is the thanks I get?!" Naruto yelled as his eyes were white circles with an angry expression on his face.

Getting out of the small crater in the wall, Yomo started rubbing his chin, "That… was payback for that last kick." he replied calmly.

Naruto was about to protest, but held back from it. The last move really was a finisher, so he couldn't blame him for wanting to get a last hit or two in.

"Well, I think it's safe to say you can handle yourself. Although I did see a flaw in your fighting, but I didn't decide to capitalize on it. You tried to use your missing arm in our fight. I'm guessing you just recently lost it, or else you would have gotten used to only using one arm instead of trying to use two." he spoke sincerely. Even with the flaw he exceeded his expectations. The bruises on his body were proof of that.

Naruto seemed to let his guard down at that. Training. That was another thought that slipped Naruto's mind entirely. Yomo's words were true and he couldn't deny it. Even he at times felt his stump of an arm trying to move to get a hit in.

Staring at the dangling sleeves on his right side he couldn't help but frown. He had to fix this problem as soon as possible, so he could protect everyone.

Going to pick up his jacket from the floor, Yomo looked back at Naruto. He was clearly deep in thought if the gaze on his missing limb was anything to go by.

"Naruto, let's go." the man spoke trying to get him out of his thoughts. It seemed to work, if Naruto's head turning to him was anything to go by. He looked back at his missing arm, and turned back to Yomo.

"You go on ahead. Just pick me up tomorrow."

Yomo seemed to get what the blond was saying. He wanted to train, so he could fix his weakness. He could respect that, and who was he to say no. If the blond wanted to get stronger on his own than let him. Turning around Yomo started making his way towards the stairs.

"I'll pick you up in the morning" he spoke as the only sounds in the room were his echoing footsteps.

Staring at the mans retreating form, Naruto waited until he couldn't see him anymore. Once he was sure Yomo was out of sight, Naruto made the familiar single hand sign. In an instant dozens of Naruto's filled the room with only one goal in mind.

To be the last one standing.

In the distance from the abandoned facility two people could be seen staring intently at it.

"When should we go senpai?" the younger one asked.

"Patience. Let's wait until morning to strike." the older one spoke with authority.

The younger of the two didn't seem to like that idea, "But sir! We can easily-"

"Enough! I am the senior investigator! Not you!" the man growled out in annoyance, "I will not have him one up me again. He will not humiliate me like last time!"

It was clear to the younger one that his senior partner held a grudge against their target. From what he understood this ghoul had left him alive, and stated he wasn't worth the time and effort. Ever since then he became hell bent, and only had a one track mind. Such a shame for someone to throw common sense away because of some grude.

'He's going to get us killed' the younger one thought. They were against a S rated ghoul, and this man was treating it as if they were two knights ready to fight against each other. Pride really was a poisonous motivation.

Seconds turned into hours, and soon enough the rising orange sun awakened. A sleeping Naruto could be seen using on of the pillars as a support for his back. Both of his eyes were closed, with the bandage for his left eye laying dirtied next to him. Opening his eyes he was met to the rays of the sun coming from a hole in the ceiling. Why was it always the once tattoo he had on his palm, that always woke him up.

'Seriously if I didn't know any better I would think it does this on purpose. I have to get shutters once I get back' he thought as he looked around the room. Many holes could be found on the ground or walls. He could actually say he made progress with it. Now he was no Sasuke, but his hard work and determination made up for that.

A smile graced his lips just thinking of his friend. A longing look appeared on his face as memories started flashing before his eyes.

'Seriously, he really was a-'

"Raven-" a voice resounded through the room, which surprisingly finished Naruto's thought.

Turning to the source of the voice he saw two figures whose faces were covered by the shadow of the room.

"We looked for you for a long time little bird." a gruff voice spoke out from the taller of the two. They stepped out of the shadows revealing their faces.

The two were wearing white cloaks that surrounded their bodies. Suitcases that seemed weird to Naruto were in a tight grip in their two didn't have any outstanding features, but instead seemed to fit perfectly with the rest of the populace. The older one seemed to be in his mid thirties who was average height for a man his age. Creases could be found under the man's eyes as if he hadn't slept in days with overly slicked back hair. He clearly put way to much gel in it. A triumphed smirk adjourned the mans face.

The younger one seemed to have more control of himself unlike his superior. He had light brown hair that was combed to the side. He was slightly more skinnier than the other one, and had glasses on.

"Little bird? Excuse me" Naruto asked out in confusion and slight offense. Who the hell were these guys. Thinking they could walk in here and start calling people birds.

His response seemed to slightly agitate the older man, but the younger one held his profesional face on.

"Don't play with us Raven!" The older one yelled in slight rage, "Have you forgotten me already?" the man asked accusedly.

"What?" Naruto asked still confused. 'Raven?' Naruto thought. The animal gave him flashbacks to a certain pair of Uchiha's.

The second the words left his mouth the older man seemed to have enough. Clicking a button on his suitcase, a blade that had pulsing red lines formed itself. He dashed towards Naruto attempting to cut his head off. Seeing this Naruto retaliated by ducking to the side before rolling backwards. Making some space between them.

"Look I don't know what you're talking about, but I think you have the wrong person" Naruto spoke calmly. If possible the man gained a tick mark that seemed as if it was about to explode.

"You… you…. I'm going to kill you for humiliating me!" the man yelled in rage as once again he dashed towards him.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, Naruto did the same. He saw that the man was once again going for a decapitation, so he jumped over the man. Landing behind him, Naruto delivered a kick to the mans back that sent him skidding away. Once again staring at him to see if he would stop.

He barely reacted to the spear that almost went through his head. Leaning his body backward, he was met eye to eye from the young man from before. He had his profesional face on as he wields the weapon with grace. Making some room between him and them Naruto dropped a kunai that was hidden away in his sleeve. Twirling it in his fingers, he had it in a reversed grip and glared at the two.

"What! You're not even going to use your kagune!" the older man growled while glaring daggers at the blond.

"Senpai, shouldn't we focus on taking the ghoul down as fast as possible instead of dragging the fight on?' the younger one spoke in a calm demeanor.

"No! Not until I have my revenge!" the man growled out as he once again shot out, but this time with his subordinate following.

Waiting for the two he parried the slash that came from the senior and dodged the spear. Unlike last time when he took a defensive stance, this time he started his assault. Making his way towards the young man he ducked under the distant jab. Before he could pull back his spear, Naruto was already in front of him with kunai in hand. Throwing the kunai in the air, Naruto delivered a punch to the juniors stomach causing the man to be lifted into the air with his fist. Repeating the action one more time, it caused the man to become winded and sent flying into a pillar rendering him unconscious.

Grabbing the kunai in mid air, Naruto turned around and instantly blocked the attempted slash that came at him. Although he was surprised when the blade actually started cutting through the kunai.

"You're done Raven!" The man hissed with venom.

Channeling chakra to his kunai, the man's sword seemed to stop cutting through. Applying a bit more strength to their stalemate. Naruto was able to make the man lose his balance. Taking advantage of this, he stabbed him through the hand causing the man to yell out in pain. Releasing his weapon Naruto left his kunai embedded through the mans hand, and grabbed the man's quinque instead. In a blink of an eye he had the man's sword pointed towards the man's jugular.

The man seemed to have a mix of fear and anger in his eye. Fear at the possibility of losing his life without getting his revenge. Anger because of having the same ghoul he swore to kill was once again looking down on him. That one lone blue cerulean eye. The bastard didn't even release his kagune, and yet here he was. About to be killed because of his own foolishness. Maybe he should have listened to his partner.

"Do it" the man hissed. If he was going to die he wouldn't be humiliated like he was last time. No, he would die like a proper CCG officer. He would fight till his death, but he had to be patient now.

The pressure of the quinque increased on his jugular. A bead of sweat made it way down his head as it went through his eyebrow. Time seemed to stop as the only thing that even dared to move was the sweat on the mans face. The drop made its way down his rough chin where it eventually made it to the edge of his chin. Dangling for a couple seconds.

It dropped.

The sound of the quinque that was once threatening to take his life was on the floor. Looking at the supposed ghoul he realized he had a look of disgust.

'No' the man thought, 'No! No! No! This will not happen again! Either I die! Or he does! There won't be any other way!' he thought in pure and utter rage. This...this thing. Dared to humiliate him. Not once but twice.

'Raven' turned around and started making his way slowly towards his junior. Echos of the ghouls opened toed sandals hitting the floor resounded through the room. Clearing his head he slowly crouched down to pick up his weapon with only one thought in mind while blinded in rage.

To kill the monster in front of him.

Weapon in hand he glared at the ghouls neck. It was quite simple for him. Or at least it was in his mind. Run up to the unsuspecting ghoul and slash his head off. Tightening his grip on the quinque with his one good hand he gritted his teeth. A step quickly turned into two, which turned into four. Seconds felt like hours as he ran towards the ghoul. Moving his arm backwards he was ready to release it to finally release the world of another monster.

Pain.

It was the only thing he felt in not even a split second. His insides were twisting and turning with ever passing moment. His insides felt as if they were put into a grinder and slowly let out. Coughing up blood he was sent flying towards a pillar. The last thing seeing before his sight faded away was a blue ball in the ghouls hand; while he yelled out something that was inaudible to him as the pain reached his mind.

"RASENGAN!"

The man hit the pillar, and with a thud fell flat face into the ground. Letting out a sigh he couldn't help but feel like quoting a certain Nara he knew.

'Troublesome.'

He was expecting to wake up to Yomo kicking him lightly in the stomach but no. Things never turned out the way he wanted them too. Trouble always found a way to him, and why the hell was that calling him a bird? Did he not see the whisker like marks on his face? Unless there were birds he didn't know about in this world, he was pretty damn sure birds didn't have whiskers!

Groaning at those thoughts he looked at the two unconscious bodies. The guys clothing matched the description that Touka and Yomo gave him about the CCG.

'White cloaks. Check. Suitcases that turn into weapons. Check. Wanting to kill ghouls… check?' he thought unsurely at the last one. It was true they thought he was a ghoul, but he wasn't one. So how would that work? That wasn't the problem at hand right now. They had seen his face, and will no doubt look for him. Afterall, he wasn't exactly a hard individual to find. A person with spiky sunny blond hair who's missing an arm, and has whisker like marks on his cheeks. Yeah… quite a hard person to find.

'I could always use that' he thought referring to his rinnegan.

However he was cut from any other thoughts as two pair of footsteps resounded through the room. Turning towards the noise he saw that it was Yomo and Touka. They seemed to be perfectly calm until they saw the two bodies lying around the room. Not knowing how to break the silence, all he could think of doing was how his sensei used to greet everyone.

"Yo!" he yelled cheerfully with an eye smile.

It seemed to cause the two to look at him as Touka ran towards him. Already seemingly inspecting him for any injuries. She had heard how the blond held his own against Yomo without using his power. She couldn't help but look over the blond as a worried older sister would.

"Touka i'm fine" he spoke reassuringly.

His words seemed to get him a punch on his head.

"Ow,ow, ow! Why Touka!" Naruto yelled with a hint of betrayal.

"Idiot!" she started harshly, "Why didn't you run?!"

Her words confused him. He wasn't hurt so what was the big deal?

"I'm not hurt or anything" he tried to reassure you.

Once again his words seemed to fail him as she glared at him.

"That's not the point-"she started, "-they saw your face Naruto."

His eyes widened at that. They did see his face, but he was already dealing with that problem.

"That means we have to kill them." he voice spoke cold. Seemingly snapping him out of his thoughts.

"What no!" he tried to argue.

His words seemed to have no effect. Her one visible eye changed from a white sclera to a black one with a red pupil. A wing which Naruto could describe as deadly but beautiful came out of her back. There was a second one but it was nowhere near as long as it's twin. The vibrant colors on the wing only made Naruto stare in awe. These weren't monsters… they were beauty. A twisted form of beauty that does what it needs to survive. Just like everyone else.

Regaining his mind, he ran in front of the two downed agents.

"Naruto… mover" she asked in slight annoyance.

"You don't have to kill them." Naruto exclaimed with a face of determination.

"Naruto-"

"Just please! Listen to me! Let me try something, so you don't have to kill them! Please, you'll only restart the cycle if you do this" he pleaded. His words seemed to struck a nerve as a flashback of Kaneki went through her mind. Naruto was doing exactly what Kaneki was when he tried to reason with her to not kill Kimi. Except this time it wasn't to someone who had no involvement in their lives. No, it was the exact opposite. It was to someone who hunted and killed her race. Just why was he doing this?

'The will to never give up, and to keep striving for your goals no matter what!' his words ranged through her head, 'Because if I give up than people will start giving up on me.' Was he actually serious?

Closing her eyes she appeared to be in thought. The three waited in silence for Touka to answer him. Naruto held the same determined face as last time, and Yomo was interested on what was going to happen.

Hearing the girl let out a sigh she looked at the blond.

"Fine, but if it doesn't work we're killing them."

Her words seemed to put a smile on Naruto's face. Disregarding the last part, he ran towards the downed junior. The two ghouls observed him on what he was going to do.

SLAP

The three were in silence at what Naruto just did.

"Huh? You know I need them to be conscious, and I actually thought that would work" Naruto spoke more to himself than anyone else.

The two ghouls gained a sweat drop as they watched Naruto do more harm to the CCG officer than good.

"Wake up you bastard!" Naruto yelled with one final slap.

It somehow seemed to work as the man let out some unknown muttering.

"W-what?"the junior CCG officer groggly muttered.

"Oh good!" the blond chirped before his expression changed to a serious one, "Look into my eye."

Still in his dazed state the man followed as he was told. Although that changed the second he saw that instead of the one lone blue eye. There was a purple one with a ripple pattern in them, with a pair of three tomos on the first two rings. The instant he looked at them he fell back into the deep state of sleep.

Watching the blond, Yomo and Touka couldn't help but wonder what he was doing. He didn't seem to do anything, but only glance at the man. That's when they saw it. When he turned to face them, there in place of his left eye was a purple eye with rings.

'What?' the two ghouls thought.

He proceeded to do the same tp the senior officer, and when he looked back he had a peaceful smile on his face. He was glad that he could save these two lives even if they did try to kill him. Well than agin, Sasuke ramed his entire fist through his right lung in an attempt to kill him, yet he let by gones be bygones.

Turning to the two ghouls he saw that there was a mixture of shock, and confusion on his face. Maybe he thought he was a ghoul?

"What?" he asked out.

Shaking his head, Yomo really had to get used to this, but he couldn't help but wonder about his left eye?

Touka had similar thoughts. The more and more she thought about his abnormal eye, the more and more a mystery Naruto became. She had never seen an eye like that before, and it just had something in it that frightened her a bit. Shaking those thoughts away she realized the state Naruto was in. He seemed to have a massive headache if the painful look on his face was anything to go by, and the constant rubbing that adjourned his head.

"Ow, ow, ow," he yelped as a sudden massive pain hit him. Was this what Sasuke had to deal with when he first used it?

"Naruto you ok?" Yomo asked with slight concern in his voice. It seemed like he was going to fall any second, and he was right next to him incase he did.

Straightening himself he opened his cerulean eye, "Yeah, i'm fine." he reassured them. That was until he fell to the floor. Yomo was able to catch him in time, before his body met the concrete floor. Looking at him he seemed to be already be snoring away with a snot bubble coming from his nose. He couldn't help but feel a tug on his lips.

Turning to the two unconscious CCG agents he wonder exactly what Naruto did to them. Had the blond really solved there problem with a simple eye glance? No, there was more to it. They would just have to ask him when he woke up. Glancing at Touka they came to a silent agreement before making their way out of the building.

Hours Later

It was mid afternoon, and our two favorite ghouls could be seen sitting at one of the many Re: table. There current discussion was about the sleeping shinobi in the rooms above.

"That eye was strange." Yomo started.

"Yeah… "Touka replied not really sure how to answer. Even after hours later the left eye of Naruto's gave her slight goosebumps just thinking about it. How it glowed menacingly, and rippled like a serene lake.

"Are you rethinking your decision on letting him stay here?" Yomo asked seeing her lost in thought.

Shaking her head at his question she spoke, "Far from it. I'm curious though what that eye is. No doubt if any CCG officer see's it they'll assume he's some sort of special ghoul. We need to be extra careful with him now." she spoke a bit overly protective of the blond. The past few days that he was with them she couldn't help but feel the same feeling she had when her and Hinami started their relationship. She may be selfish, but she wasn't going to let anyone else leave.

Yomo had to agree with her words. No doubt if the CCG heard of a purple one eyed ghoul, they would hunt him down relentlessly. He just prayed that if that did happen Aogiri Tree didn't start taking an interest in the blond as well. That would be a disaster.

"He can handle himself just fine. It's people finding out who he is that worries me" Yomo spoke.

"Aw, such a sweet thing to say" a jollyful voice spoke from the stairs. Turning their heads towards the voice they realized it was their person of interest. A smile was plastered on his whiskered face, and unlike most times he had his left eye closed instead of covered, "I wouldn't think I warmed up to you that fast Yomo" he finished as he took a seat at the round table.

His words brought on Yomo's stoic expression. He didn't even give the blond a glance.

Seeing this Naruto pouted a bit before turning to Touka, "So what were you guys talking about?" he asked.

Letting out a sigh she couldn't help but pinch the bridge of her nose, "Look Naruto, you need to be more careful with your identity. Remember what you said when we first met you?" she asked as his words hit him straight in the face.

'If people find out about my abilities, I wouldn't know what they would do to obtain my power for their own use or to kill me'

A frown adjourned his face, "Touka I fixed the problem. I promise it won't happen again, and you know-"

"You're always someone who keeps their promises." she finished his sentence. She had already figured the blonds antics, so it wasn't much of a surprise to them when she did. Although she didn't know how he fixed his problems. She could say that she was slightly annoyed that he wasn't taking this seriously enough.

Letting out a sigh she looked upon the whiskered teen, "Naruto, I don't think you understand the situation your in. If people find out that you're a supposed ghoul with special abilities what do you think they'll do?" she asked rhetorically.

He opened his mouth to speak, but than thought about it. They would most likely want to hunt him down.

Seeing that he got his answer she continued, "And when they find out who you are, do you know who'll also get caught in the crossfire?"

His cerulean eye widened at that. If they found out who he was than they would find out that Touka and everyone else were ghouls. That wasn't exactly something either of them wanted to happen. Gaining a disappointed face he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed in himself. Here he was thinking that he could solve every problem that comes his way easily, but never considered that if he did that than he would be creating more problems for them.

Touka couldn't help but frown at his expression. She just wanted to tell him why she didn't want him to be doing stuff like that anymore, but it seemed it hit him hard. Damn teenagers! Was she like this when she was his age? Wait he was just a year younger than here.

Shaking her thoughts she looked at the blond. Sighing she spoke, "Look i'm not saying you can't go out, but just don't cause trouble that'll bring attention to yourself. I'm sure you won't be able to do what you did back there in every situation, so… please be careful." she spoke sincerely.

Lifting his head he looked at the young coffee shop owner across from him. Had he really had that much of an affect on her already. He couldn't help but gain his usual foxy grin.

"Don't worry Touka! You're talking to the future Hokage, Dattebayo!" he chirped.

They all seemed to smile at his happiness. Now to move onto other matters.

Clearing his throat Yomo looked at Naruto, "What did you do to them?"

A confused look crossed the blond as he blinked a couple of times, "Who?"

"The CCG agents."

Eye widening in realization he clapped his forehead with his hand, "Oh! Yeah I have no clue."

The two ghouls seemed to instantly deadpan at his remark.

"Yyou're kidding right?" Touka asked a bit dumbfounded. She knew he had his moments but come in. His innocent smile just confirmed he actually had no idea what he was doing.

"Hehe, I kinda just pushed a lot of chakra and there was this sort of click. Next thing I knew a major headache assaulted me, and here we are."

"So they might still retain their memories of you" Yomo spoke but it was clear it wasn't a question.

"No,no, I know I did it right. There eye changed to the same as mine before they fell asleep again." he reassured them.

A silence followed as they took in that information.

"So what exactly is that eye?" Yomo asked.

Looking at the ceiling and gaining a thinking expression he closed his eye.

"It's a power that if fallen into the wrong hands could destroy the world itself" he spoke in all seriousness. Glancing at the two he looked at their reactions. Yomo seemed to be dissecting his words, while Touka seemed to not care, but a look of worry crosser he face.

"That's just what people say. You need a certain type of chakra to wield it perfectly though. My friend entrusted me with the eye, and there's no way i'm going to fo back on his trust." he reassured them. It seemed to work as Touka's form relaxed, and as did Yomo's. He wasn't lying either. Sasuke had Indra's chakra, thus making him a perfect candidate for the rinnegan. He had Asura's chakra, which was completely different.

The noise of Naruto's stomach grumbling caught the attention of all three of them. Seriously he had to get this problem fixed with his stomach grumbling at the worst possible times. Maybe he could buy a crap ton of instant ramen packs, so he didn't have to keep taking Yomo's money for food.

The man in thought shook his head before already having his money out as an offering. Thanking the man he made his way towards the exit, but not before seeing a familiar face.

The jingle of the bells indicating the door being opened was heard. There standing in front of Naruto with a passive face was Nishiki. They stood there staring at each other, before coming to a silent agreement not to yell at each other…. Yet. Walking past the man Naruto started his trek towards the ramen shop he had grown quite fond of.

Looking at the blonds retreating form Nishiki couldn't help but sigh. Seeing the looks from Touka and Yomo, he already knew they found some information. Be it Naruto or Kaneki he didn't care. Well slightly.

"So, anything new?" he asked with his bored tone.

"Yeah, a lot." Yomo decided to speak up.

"About our blond foxy friend or our psychotic emo friend?"

He was genuinely surprised at the answer he got.

"Both."

* * *

 **Chapter 5! Not sure if anyone reads these but eh why not. Not gonna lie I wrote a majority of this chapter today, and it's currently almost 2 in the morning. Sorry if there's spelling or grammatical errors, but i'm extremely tired right now. The reason being I have a flight tomorrow back to the US, so I thought, 'hey let's upload today instead of making you guys wait longer.' So yeah that was my thought process for this chapter. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the fights, and sorry if they're bad. It's my first time writing them, so feedback is very much appreciated. Also I think I put a reference somewhere in the chapter, but forgot or that might be me just imagining things. For my readers that read my other story, i'm sorry but the next chapter is going to come out late. (Not that it had a schedule to start with) Also I haven't started on it, which I will on my flight back. It's going to be a pain, but i'll do it for you guys. Using notes on my computer is going to be a pain, so we'll se how that turns out. Also, i'm not sure if you guys realized this yet, but i'm someone who likes to write my own original content. That might include ARCS, and stuff and I have slightly hinted without giving to much information at what's going to come. It's basically me saying, 'Here's a sentence or word, and now you come up with this crazy scenario that no normal person would.' Ok i'm really tired. PM me if you have any questions, and please leave a review! Thank's for reading! Till Next Time!**


	6. Foundations

"Welcome!"

The cheerful voice resounded through the shop after the jingle.

"You're forgetting something" Yomo's gruff voice spoke.

"And that is?" He asked blankly.

It was the day before the cafe opened, and Yomo wanted to review everything he thought him. He wanted to complain that he could be doing something better, but was quickly shot down when he realized he actually didn't. There was Saiko but she was busy being initiated to her work place. Which was… weird. Her surgery and her initiation were almost a whole week apart. ' _They must be showing her around the workplace and such'_ he thought to himself. It seemed the two were going through the same hell as each other. The pain of work.

"Ahem" Yomo coughed catching the blonds attention, "You're missing the part where you tell them you'll be right with them, or you know to take a seat."

Seriously, this is what he was being scolded about.

"Now let's try again." Yomo told him before exiting the shop.

A couple minutes passed, and the same sound of bells jingling filled the room.

"Welcome! Please seat yourself, and i'll be right with you!" Naruto chirped but with a bit less enthusiasm as before.

Yomo nodded in acceptance. They had finally gotten past part one.

Taking a seat in the corner of the room, he looked through the menu that could be found at every table. Hearing the echoes of shoes hitting the floor in a rhythmic pattern; Yomo faced the waiter. He had the same cheerful, friendly, smile when he came in here. His spiky blond hair that was impossible to tame seemed to radiate a feeling of comfort. A blue eye that welcomed anyone and everyone. Yes, he was doing good so far, but the hard part was yet to come.

"Have you decided what you want to drink?" Naruto asked.

Looking him over he saw only one flaw.

"Where's your notepad?"

"You know, it's kinda impossible to write and carry something when you only have _one arm_." he responded with a hint of annoyance. He hadn't taken any offense to his comment, but he just wanted to show the geezer that he couldn't do _everything_.

Seemingly ignoring him Yomo looked back at the menu, "Put the notepad down on the table, and than write on it."

Silence.

Opening his mouth to protest, Naruto realized he was completely right. It was such a simple solution to a stupid problem. Turning around with his mouth still agape he scrunched his face before getting his notepad and pen. Returning a small time later he laid the pad down on the table before taking the pen out of his pocket.

"What may I start you off with today sir?" he asked politely.

Nodding in acceptance Yomo gave him his order. A simple one really; black coffee with sugar.

Making his way behind the counter. Naruto repeated the steps that were drilled into him at day one. Taking out the roasted coffee beans, he put them in the grinder. Of course he had to grind them manually since things were never that easy for him. Afterwards, he put the grinded coffee beans on the filter; where he then slowly poured water over it, and waited. A while later a aromatic scent filled the cafe. The sound of clinking was heard as he set his work down on Yomo's table. It was still dancing out steam, but that was normal.

"Voila" Naruto exclaimed proudly, however the ghoul still held his stoic face on.

Closing his eyes, Yomo grabbed the coffee before bringing it up to his lips. It stayed there for a while as he took in the scent. Not perfect, but it was good nonetheless. That didn't mean the taste was the same however. Taking a small sip, the burning sensation of freshly brewed coffee meeting his tongue coursed through his mouth down to his throat. It was the same as the smell. Not perfect, but not terrible.

"It's nice." he spoke stoically.

"Really? Nice, that's it?" Naruto asked as he slouched over with a deadpan.

"I said it's 'nice', not bad." Yomo replied opening one eye.

Letting out a sigh he prayed that this trial as he called it was almost done.

"You're free to go. I already know you know the rest of the stuff." The stoic man spoke causing Naruto to straighten up.

"Really!?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes. Congratulations, you're now a full fledge waiter."

Pumping his arm into the air he couldn't believe it. Not only was it over, but he was a waiter!

' _Wait a minute… that's more of a downgrade than an upgrade_ ' he thought as his one revealing eye turned into a line with his mouth matching it. Turning his head like a broken machine to face Yomo he only had one question.

"Are you still going to pay for my ramen?" he asked a bit nervously.

"No"

Falling at the mans bluntness; he couldn't believe it. His pay was probably getting docked, and that only meant less ramen. Curse this cruel world!

"Also you might want to check your room." the silver haired ghoul spoke cryptically.

"Huh? Why? There's not gonna be anything bad, right?"

Instead of a response he got nothing but silence.

' _Sheesh, at least show some sign of acknowledgment'_ he thought before making his way upstairs.

Opening his room, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was in place, but there was something added to it. A wrapped rectangular what he assumed was a box laid on his desk.

Approaching it he made out some writing on it,

 _To Whiskers,_

 _Try not to get killed._

 _-Uta_

Reading the first part over brought a constant twitching to his eyebrow. Seriously! They're not whiskers! Closing his eye he took in a deep breath before exhaling. Plopping his eye open he looked at the box. Unwrapping it slowly he couldn't help but already feel a wave of nostalgia wash over him.

Opening the package he let out a gasp, before excited rummaging was heard through the halls.

 **With Yomo Downstairs**

For what seemed like the hundredth time for today the jingle of a bell was heard resounding through the cafe. Looking up from his newspaper he was met face to face with Touka. She seemed to have a somewhat anxious look on her face, but who could blame her. Not after the rumor they heard of their friend.

Kaneki Ken.

It had been sometime in July when they lost everything. Three months to be more precise. Three months of believing everything they once had was gone. Now a rumor of a CCG agent who has the ability of a ghoul comes spreading around like a wildfire. Just what exactly were those doves planning? They had already tried to go after him when they mistook him for Naruto, and that was due to his carelessness. He couldn't imagine how much trouble it would bring if the CCG found a way to recruit ghouls into their ranks. That's not what was on his mind however. It was the fact that the supposed 'ghoul' in the CCG had been rumored to have the kagune of the 'Eyepatch', and was under training from the CCG's reaper himself.

"Have you told him yet?"

Looking back at his paper he shook his head. A look of disapproval flashed on Touka's face, but was interrupted by the excited footsteps making their way downstairs.

"Yomo! Yomo! Look! It's so awesome, Dattebayo!" Naruto bounced around the mans table with excitement while he all but shoved the mask into his face.

The mask resembled that of a fox with red paint outlining its eyes. It had three whisker like markings on each cheek that curved at the end. A symbol that reminded him of his doppelgangers mask was placed on its forehead, with red accompanying the ears. All in all, it reminded him of the ANBU that was placed to protect him when he was younger.

Smile still etched on his face; Naruto placed the mask on.

"Look! Look! It's so cool!" he chirped as he pointed at it with his hand. Somehow even with the mask on they could still see his wide smile through it.

Closing her eyes and letting out a tired sigh. She felt as if she was dealing with a child. A child that was high on sugar, and worse of all, a child who was almost an adult.

"Naruto! Shut up and listen!" she snapped at the blond.

Opening his mouth to retort he was silenced by the glare he received from a certain purplete. Luckily for him the mask was covering his mouth, but he had a feeling she still somehow knew what he was doing.

Still glaring at him she waited until she was sure he calmed down. Not receiving anything but a stare she turned to Yomo, signaling him to speak.

He was still in the same position as before. Eyes closed with both of his hands on the coffee. Only this time it seemed like there was less coffee as before.

"While you're out in Tokyo I want you to be on the lookout-"

"For what?" he asked, rudely interrupting him. The holes burning at the side of his head was all he needed to know to shut up. Touka was starting to get pissed. That was not something he wanted or needed right now.

"There's rumors going on underground that the CCG have a supposed ghoul in their ranks. It's been spreading around for a while now, but everyone mostly doubts the claim. Just be on the lookout for anyone in a white coat using a ghouls ability."

Nodding at his words he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. There was that feeling in his gut again. The same feeling he had when he had first encountered Haku. He just didn't know what it was.

"This ghoul…. Is it… him?" he asked a bit unsure of himself.

There was a silence between them. His words seemed to affect Touka the most, if her hair shadowing her eyes was anything to go by. Yomo… Yomo was still in the same state as before, but this time with his eyes slightly open staring at him.

"Yes… It's Kaneki." he replied neutrally.

Nodding once again he glanced at Touka. She seemed to be reminiscing about something. Closing his eye he was about to approach her, to comfort her, but was stopped by the sounds of footsteps. Opening his lone blue eye he realized it was Touka. Her retreating form made its way upstairs.

A silence fell before the two.

Still staring at the stairway that led upstairs he wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"Ow!" he yelled as something hit the side of his head and miraculously landed in his left hand, "What the hell Yomo!" he asked in agitation with a glare sent towards the source of the object that hit him.

"That's your pay starting from now on. Don't spend it on stupid stuff, since you only have about a week or two worth of food in there."

Looking at the small envelope he opened it to see what he assumed to be quite a bit of money. Conveniently at that exact moment the lone or phone, whatever it was called, vibrated in his waiter pocket. Taking it out it was a text from Saiko herself.

' _Oh thank Kami. I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind the whole day.'_ he thought in relief.

Apparently the initiation was shorter than she thought.

' _She was probably late.'_

Replying to her message with some difficulty he went upstairs to change, and made his way towards their usual hangout spot.

 **An Hour Later**

"So you're telling me you fell asleep on the couch when they were showing you around the house?" Naruto could be heard with amusement in his voice.

"S-shut up!" the girl sitting across from him stuttered out in a blush.

Her response only seemed to make him roll in his laughter.

"I-i'm sorry but… how… how did you manage to fall asleep on the couch on your inituation?" he asked after calming down a bit.

Gaining a pinkish tint on her cheeks. Saiko burrowed her face into her scarf.

"Ioverslept" she blurted out.

"What?"

"I overslept!" she spoke a bit louder.

Dumbfounded by her words he blinked blankly. It seemed the words were still processing in his head before a look of realization hit him.

"What! How?"

The question seemed to make her tense. Fidgeting with her fingers she couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed, "Saiko…. might have stayed up all night playing a game."

There it was again. That cute little third person tick she had. Then again who was he to judge when he would be screaming how he would be the next Hokage with a 'dattebayo' followed up with it.

' _Wait a minute I still do that.'_

Suppressing a chuckle at her antics he couldn't help but smile. Over the past week he had probably became the best of friends with Saiko out of everyone else. Of course he could tell that she was keeping something to herself, and he couldn't blame her when he was doing the exact same thing.

"Eh I probably would have done the same thing." Actually he did do the same thing. He _was_ extremely late for the entrance exam, and almost overslept his graduation from the academy. Luckily he wasn't like a certain silver haired teacher of his.

His comment seemed to take her out of her small stuper.

"So what'd you do today?" she asked while planting her hand against her face. Seemingly interested at whatever the blond had to say.

Shrugging his shoulders he spoke, "Eh you know, this and that. Became a professional waiter. Or just a normal waiter."

It seemed to interest her if the curious tilt of her head was anything to go by, "A waiter?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I work at a cafe not to far from here. We're opening tomorrow."

"Really, that's awesome!"

Smiling at her response he was glad she thought so.

"I guess you can call me a NEET." she chirped with a thumbs up that was pointed at herself.

Blinking a few he put his hand on his chin in a thinking gesture. A few moments passed, and a defeated expression graced his face.

"What's a NEET?" he asked.

White circles replaced Saiko's eyes as her mouth hung off her chin.

"First you don't know what manga is! Now this! It's like you lived under a rock you're whole life!" she yelled at him while waving her arms to her sides furiously.

' _She's not far from it'_ he thought on her last comment. If you replaced the rock with a different world than it would be spot on.

Squinting his eye he somewhat listened to her as she told him all the different types of pop culture in japan. It was a problem though when she was speaking faster than he thought was possible. Honestly, her enthusiasm reminded him of Bushy Brows and Bushier Brow-Sensei.

Eventually his eyes saw the bigger picture. Where he was once staring at just her lips move, he was now looking at her whole face. Her two thick pigtails moving ever so slightly whenever she moved her head. The unevenly fringed bangs that seemed to follow her heads every motion. Her blue hair that seemed to shine with a glow that just captivated him. Then there were her eyes. Eyes that were darker than his own, but yet still seemed to be made out of sapphire.

He couldn't help but close his eye and smile.

Friendship was a wonderful thing.

Time passed them in a blink of an eye. What was once a ramen stand had quickly changed to an arcade. The flashing of the word 'winner' repeated on his screen, while Saiko had a angry look on her face.

"That's the fourth time in a row you beat me at something! I thought you said you never played one of these!" she yelled accusingly.

Scratching his head sheepishly he felt bad, "What! I wasn't lying when I said that… I just have the devil's luck when it comes to things like this" he spoke trying to defend himself.

"Yeah, well it takes skill to win at _things_ like this." she quickly retorted.

' _She isn't actually mad…. Right?'_ he wondered to himself.

When they had gotten into the arcade; they had made a wager on whoever won the most games against each other. The other person would have to give the other all of their tickets.

He did feel a bit bad about beating her, but honestly! It's not like he was trying to win!

Staring at her frustrated retreating form he couldn't help but frown. She seemed to take pride in her gaming skills.

' _Ok, I'll try to lose the next ones.'_

It seemed she had picked the next game if her waiting form was anything to go by. She seemed to be a mix of frustrated, annoyed, and determined to win the next ones and the ones after that. Sighing he just hoped his devilish luck didn't interfere anymore.

 **Some Time Later**

' _How the Hell did this happen?'_

Curse his luck! He had by some small stupendous chance he had won every single game. That wasn't even the worst part. Saiko had all but stopped talking to him, and he wasn't sure if it was out of anger or disappointment. Hopefully he could find a way to fix this.

They were currently standing at the prize section, and waiting while they weighed how many tickets he got. It seemed to be _a lot_ if the constant changing of the tickets was anything to go by. Finally after what seemed like hours he got ticket count.

Glancing at Saiko she seemed to be sadly looking at something. A look of want clearly in her sapphire eyes.

' _Yeah… I think I know what to do.'_ he thought to himself as he looked at the item she was looking at. It was an orange creature who had fire on his tail, with his hands out. It's mouth was open, which showed a toothy smile.

"Excuse me sir!" He yelled while waving his arm to get the workers attention. It seemed to catch Saiko's as well, clearly curious about what he was going to get. Pointing at the plush he spoke cheerfully, "Could I possibly get the orange guy up there?"

The worker nodded before leaving to get it for him. There was a silence between Naruto and Saiko, but this time it was different than before. This one was filled with an air of curiosity. They stayed there waiting for the worker, while Saiko looked at Naruto trying to figure out his intentions. Did he catch her looking at the prize, and decided to get it for her?

' _Come on Saiko… he's probably going to get it for himself'_ she thought sadly. She was upset that she lost. Why wouldn't she be. Out of everything video games was the only thing she was really good at, and she prided herself for that. She had seen the plush over a month ago, and had been saving up since then. Almost all her allowance was put into this one thing, and now here she is losing it all.

Letting out a sigh a frown graced her lips. Not only did she lose all of her tickets, but now she had to go all the way to the first ward where her new home was. That was a trip she didn't want to take in this mood.

She watched as the worker handed the plush that almost reached her collar bone to Naruto.

Dropping her head she stared at the floor.

Was he really going to keep it all for himself? Why did she go on and make a stupid wager like that? She was so close to having it, but watching someone else take her prize with her own tickets hurt. Or at least that's what she thinks it was.

A soft texture brushed the side of her arm, which sent a jolt down her spine. Looking up she was met face to face with the smiling orange creature that she adored in her game. Next to the plush's face was Naruto's. Seemingly replicating the creatures smile with one of his own.

"Here" he said softly.

Looking at the creature again she took in unsurely. Was he really just gonna give it to her like that?

"You sure?"

Everything seemed to stop as she awaited his answer. The noises of children yelling, machines clinking, and people talking all seemed to fade away from existence. She was expecting him to say 'no', but the answer she got was something she would always remember.

"Saiko…" he started with a small smile, his features showing nothing but joy, "You're someone important to me-"

Five words was all it took to fluster her. Her heart beat seemed to rise as did her eyes.

"-I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities like this again. Afterall i'm sure I won't always be this lucky, dattebayo." he told her with a smile.

It seemed to work as her mood did a complete one eighty. A smile replaced her frown as she looked at her gift.

"Thank you… "

It was all Naruto needed to hear for his smile to widen even further.

"I should probably get going." she told him.

"Huh?" he asked not realizing what she said.

"It's getting pretty late. In fact Saiko needs to be home soon."

"Well come on! I'll take you" he chirped as he grabbed her arm and tugged her along with him, all but cutting her off from protesting if there was any.

Saiko seemed content with it as she was dragged out of the arcade. With one of her hands holding Naruto's while the other flew behind her gripping the gift, she couldn't help but smile at her new friends antics.

 **Later**

"Holy crap…. Saiko is your house?" Naruto's asked as he pointed at it with a gobsmacked expression.

"It's not just mine. There's-" she stopped as she started counting on her fingers, "-four other people who live in here."

The house was the definition of a modern rich house. It seemed to have three floors with an attic, and the yard was obviously taken care of. It had a gate at the front with fences surrounding the property. All in all, it was probably one of the nicest houses Naruto has seen in his life. If he was to compare the architecture to the Elemental Nation to here, than 'here' definitely beat his home.

Approaching the door, the house seemed to get bigger and bigger with every step. You could hear people chattering away, and if the voices were anything to go by there was a lot of people. A party?

Stopping in his tracks the same gut feeling from before came to surface. He didn't really feel like bargaining into something that didn't include him.

' _Not like that stopped me before'_

"Naruto?" Saiko's voice caught his attention, "You coming?"

Looking around he couldn't shake the feeling he felt from before.

"Uh… Maybe next time. I'll see ya later Sai-chan!" he yelled as he gave the blunete a quick wave before jogging away.

"Weird" Saiko muttered out to herself.

' _He probably forgot he had something to do'_ she thought while glancing down at the prize he had given her. She couldn't help but have this warm tingly feeling. Turning around she made her way towards the door.

' _Just why exactly is he so nice?'_ she thought as the blond became the focus of her attention. The whole time they knew each other they had only ever talked at the ramen place, or briefly over text. ' _Saiko's thinking to much into this.'_ was her last thought before entering her new home.

It looked exactly what one would expect when viewed from the outside. Rich, extravagant, and clean furniture. Long narrow hallways filled with artifacts and paintings. Rooms that were so clean you could eat food off the ground. Turning to where the 'welcome' or 'initiation' party was, she couldn't help but frown. She didn't really know anyone here, and she didn't like the looks she received from some of the CCG officers. It wasn't one of lust, but disgust.

Disgust, for turning into the beings that they swore to destroy. At least she wasn't _actually_ a ghoul. Just….part one. Yeah, just part one. ' _After all Saiko can still go out to eat all those delicious foods'_ she thought with drool in her mouth.

Entering her room she looked around at the blank state of it. There was a simple bed with white sheets and pillows. There was a desk with a single lamp on it, and walls as white as snow. To simply put it, the room was frankly rather blank looking.

Placing the plushie, she got from Naruto, on her bed a smile crept its way onto her lips. At least she'll have some sort of decoration in here. She didn't know why, but she felt that this decoration wasn't the only seed being planted.

"Ah, Saiko I was just about to go out looking for you." A voice called out from her door.

Turning towards the voice she was met with a man clearly in his twenties, with black streaks coming out of his crown and white covering the rest of it. He had on a black turtleneck sweater, with jeans accompanying them. Grey eyes that leaned more towards black than white. A friendly welcoming smile plastered on his face as he looked at her.

"Ah-um-it's…. You….." she sputtered out not expecting the sudden appearance of her squad leader was it?

Chucking he ruffled the shorter girls hair, "I can already tell you're gonna make this a lot more fun."

Slowly nodding at his words she let him continue, "Would you like to join the party? After all it's for our squad, so I would think you would like to be there." he asked politely.

Looking around her room she clearly felt uncomfortable doing that. She would have rather been playing or maybe even hanging out with Naruto more….

Noticing her discomfort a gentle understanding smile crept on his face, "Well, you're always welcome Saiko. I can't wait to get to know you and the squad better."

Leaving to return to the party he gave her one last smile before shutting the door.

 **Naruto**

Just what the hell was this surging pain. Ever since he used that damn rinnegan he had been getting head splitting headaches throughout the past few days, but they hadn't been this bad.

' _Sasuke definitely didn't experience this.'_ There was just no damn way he could handle this pain while fighting two godly like beings, and than him.

Entering the subway he boarded one of the trains as quickly as possible. He had to get back as fast as possible.

Looking up at the lights his vision started to blur.

' _What the hell?'_

Looking around he started to feel his vision darken.

' _I feel sleepy….b...but….I need….to get….ba…..'_ were his last thoughts as he drifted to sleep.

 **Re:**

Just where was that blond idiot. She had texted him to get home ASAP, but no he hasn't even opened her message. The worst part was he didn't even tell them where he was going, so it was either wait for him or go on a wild goose chase. With the café opening tomorrow she was going to take the former.

"I'm sure it's nothing Touka, probably just got lost in the city." Yomo tried to reassure her.

Looking at him a clear worried look crossed her face, "That's what i'm worried about. Knowing him he's probably drugged, caught the CCG's attention, or has someone trying to kill him. We've only known him for what? A couple of weeks-"

"And yet he's grown so close to our little group of misfits" Yomo finished with a sip of his cup.

Nodding, she looked down at the phone before sending one last message to the whiskered teen.

 **Train**

His cerulean eye opened itself to the baren train. Groggily moving his head forward. Looking around there weren't many if any people. There was one but they seemed…. Creepy. Checking the map he was in the 11th ward…..

The one place they had told him not to go…..

He was in…

' _Well she's going to kill me'_ he thought as he scratched his head, ' _Lets see I can either get off now, and shinobi style my way back… oh wait….my mask. Well that leaves two other options, one stay on this train for let's see…. Two hours! Or get a cab with the limited money I have left.'_

Opening his wallet he looked at the amount he had, which was a surprising zero.

' _And I already used it all on ramen and games. Nice Naruto, nice.'_

Sighing he rubbed his face in frustration before taking a seat.

Once again falling into the same sleep he once had before.

 **Unknown**

Jolting awake he found himself in the familiar sewer he had grown used to when he was in dire need of help.

Although something was off.

The pipes, that used to be pumping Kurama's chakra into him since his birth, were broken.

"I should probably talk to Kurama about that…" he thought out loud.

Shrugging to himself he started his trek on the same path he had always taken. Taking the finally turn, Kurama's cage was there in all it's glory, opened and all.

"Oi! You lazy oversized plush! Get up!" he yelled with his one arm in a shouting gesture.

Silence.

Frowning, he couldn't help but feel the same feeling as before start to surface up.

"Kurama?" he asked a bit more softly with his facial features turning into one of worry.

Nothing but the echo of his voice

"Hey come on…. Now's not the time for jokes…."

Still nothing.

Approaching the cage slowly the only thing that could be heard resounding through the room was the splashes of Naruto's footsteps hitting water.

Finally reaching the open gate his eyes shot wide open as he fell to his knees. Raindrops that fell from his cheeks.

"K-kurama!" he sobbed.

Tightening his hand so hard it turned white he started to repeatedly hit the floor. Cracks started to form under the pressure as he gave one last cry before slouching over. Staring at the water his eyes widened once again at what was staring at him in the reflection.

Instead of the one cerulean blue eye he had gotten used to looking at; there showed _two_ cerulean blue eyes staring at him. Looking back at the cage with a petrified expression he noticed a tablet with the symbol that had an 'ə' with steam coming out of it. Getting up he approached the tablet.

' _That wasn't there before.'_ he thought with his head tilt.

Touching it he disappeared from his mindscape, never noticing the dark purple mist that had slightly poured out the cracks.

* * *

 **Authors Note**

 **I'ma start with apologizing for how long it took to get this chapter out. As some of you guys know school has started up again, which has cut my time by quite a bit. In fact I didn't even open this chapter until last month where I wrote a bit, told myself, "let's get one out on monday," and than never returned to it until yesterday and today. Anyway I just want to thank everyone for reviewing. (Even the ones who went on a rant on why Naruto is practically a god). It has definitely opened more doors that I didn't know even know were there, and I would like to say I have a solid ground to continue this story on. I might go back in to fix all the grammar, and all the other jazz, sometime soon. (That includes the previous chapters) Cause I was rereading what I wrote, and slapped myself for all the mistakes that were on it. Anyway, thank you all for reading and still hopefully being here after all this time. I'll try to work on this piece by piece whenever I can. Also a quick side note for those of you who read my other story. I will post an update about what's gonna happen on that whenever I actually feel comfortable saying what I want to say. Once again, sorry for the long wait. I'll try to make sure the next one you guys don't have to wait 3 months and some days. Thanks for reading! Till next time! (Not 3 months) :)**


End file.
